An Internal Affair
by Ladytalon
Summary: DAY BREAK Andrea Battle discovers that there's more to Chad Shelten than meets the eye, but is he willing to move on and leave his past with Rita behind? Complete in 30 chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Chad Shelten smiled dutifully and joined in raising his beer bottle in a toast to the gray-haired man beaming about at them all. "Thanks, you guys – I really appreciate you comin' out…" Ernie Collins rambled on about how sad he was about retiring and how much he'd miss the force, but Chad was already not paying attention. The whole thing was just too depressing, and he'd heard it all many times before…he hoped he'd have something new to say when it was time for him to retire. Anyway, these retirement parties were always to dull, he'd rather play in traffic just to see what would happen.

Pushing off the wall he was leaning against, he made his way back to the bar for another beer. He sipped slowly, leaning back against the bar and scanning the crowd idly, eyes occasionally wandering over to the clock ion the opposite side of the room. "You look thrilled to be alive," a female voice observed, and he glanced over to see Andrea Battle watching him with amusement in her eyes.

"Hey, don't let the expression on my face fool you – these are the moments I live for," he cracked, taking another pull on his beer before looking at her once more. "Where's your partner?" Not that he wasn't thrilled at the man's absence.

Battle tilted her head at him. "Do you really want to know?"

That meant that Hopper was with Rita…he instantly regretted having asked and lifted the bottle to his lips. "Not really, no."

"That's a relief, because I have no idea where he is…what're you drinking, Heineken?" She motioned to his bottle and leaned over to get the bartender's attention.

Why was she even talking to him? She didn't like him. Well, nobody did, really. Anyways. "Yeah, they water the other stuff down here and I watched him open the bottle…."

"Then that's for me." She paid and perched on the bar stool next to him, looking over at Ernie who was shaking Spivak's hand and telling the same story that he'd laid on him earlier in the evening. "Saw you looking at the clock – somewhere to be?"

Chad glanced at her again. "Anywhere but here? Look, why are you even talking to me? You don't like me," he pointed out.

"Does anyone?"

"Well, my mother does…although I think that's because she has to. Didn't want to be imprisoned for putting me in a gunny sack and throwing me in the river when I was born, apparently." Chad turned towards her as she laughed, figuring that since they had gotten this far she wouldn't run away now. He missed having someone to talk to, even casually – the other officers at IA were too concerned with their careers to hang out with him, not that he blamed them any. He'd been the same way when he was just starting out, but lately he'd been thinking of how nice it would be to have some real friends. Besides, it would just burn Hopper up if he found out Battle was actually having a friendly conversation with him.

Battle tilted her head again as she looked at him, still smiling. "You're the only one I really know here – well, besides Spivak and he's an uptight pain in the ass" Chad snorted agreement and won a wider smile from her "and I thought you could maybe think up a good excuse for the both of us to be elsewhere."

He swirled the liquid inside the bottle pensively. "Well, the rules of etiquette say that we have to stay at least an hour…and it's only been fifteen minutes, despite it feeling as if several eternities have already passed." She was still smiling at him, and it was making him nervous. "Wanna go over there to a table so we can take verbal potshots at everybody else?"

The smile was still there. "Okay."

Andrea slid into a chair, not exactly knowing what had possessed her to go up to Shelten and talk to him. She'd been telling the truth; he really _was_ the only one she knew aside from that bastard Spivak…but he really didn't seem so bad, outside of work. Well, so far. There was a reason he was divorced, after all. Right now he was regaling her with entertaining stories about the majority of the attendees of this endless retirement party and she was laughing because it _was_ pretty damned funny. "So, what made you want to become a cop?" she asked, after breathing in deep to avoid choking on her beer.

Chad sighed heavily and looked off past her right ear, as if thinking of something he didn't really want to recall. "Well, when I was about nine years old, I…one of my best friends was run over by a Mack truck just beside the playground. The guy took off, and they never found him – I swore that when I grew up, I'd become a policeman and find him."

She reached a hand over the table to touch his sleeve. "I'm so sorry…"

He shifted his eyes back to hers, a grin spreading across his face. "That was actually a lie. I just got into it for the car chases I saw on tv."

"That's…really, really stupid," Andrea finally said, trying not to laugh and failing.

"Yeah, sorry." Chad grinned back at her and downed the rest of his beer. "So what about you?"

Andrea drew circles on the table with her finger thoughtfully. "Kind of a family thing, I guess you'd say. Dad was a beat cop for most of his life, my three uncles, and my big brother was a Sheriff's Deputy…so I kinda just followed in their footsteps."

He frowned. "No women in your family wanted to join the force?"

"Not really, they thought it was too much of a good ole boy's club…" They continued talking about different things, and Andrea found herself being constantly surprised at the fact that Chad Shelten could apparently be more than just an arrogant bastard and was actually pretty decent company. Of course, there was no way she'd tell Hopper that… she was telling him about a particularly humorous situation she had walked in on when entering her lieutenant's office when she realized that most of the crowd had already gone home. "Oh, lord – what time is it?" She asked, going for her watch_. I had no idea that we'd been talking for __**this**__ long... _

Chad looked around at the mostly empty bar and down at his watch. "Oh…I think the requisite 'hour' has definitely passed and I've got to be in early tomorrow." He stood and tossed down a few folded bills, waiting patiently as she checked her phone for any messages. "Walk you out?"

"Okay," she agreed and they made the walk in silence until they reached her car. "Hey, so does this mean you'll go easy on me next time I get hauled into IA?" Andrea asked hopefully, holding the door open.

He looked down and smirked. "What do _you_ think?"

"It was worth a try," she sighed.

"Next time, try harder. 'Night," he called back over his shoulder as he unlocked the door to his huge Yukon.

Next time? She sat in her car and stared after him thoughtfully as he drove away. What was that supposed to mean? "Weird. Now he's got me seeing him as an actual person." Andrea shook her head and put the car in drive.

tbc…


	2. Chapter 2

"Where were you last night? I had to hang out at Ernie's retirement party by myself," Andrea muttered as Hopper breezed past her with a smile and a nod.

He looked vaguely guilty. "Oh, I – I completely forgot about that…"

"Obviously. Is that coffee for me?" She asked pointedly, jerking her chin in the direction of the steaming Starbucks cup on his desk. Hiding a grin at his sigh as he relinquished his coffee to her, she studied it carefully. "You forgot that I like more sugar and cream in it than that," Andrea teased. "I'll be back." She took her purloined cup of Guatemala Antiqua, for that was what was printed on the side, out into the hall to find the small refreshment stand to dump six more packets of sugar and three small tubs of half and half inside.

Making her way back to her desk she noticed Chad on the move, pointing a finger at a cowering officer at a desk. "I'm watching you, Sanders," he warned on his way past. The man positively reveled in bringing people to the brink of tears, she decided.

"Doing the daily 'walk of intimidation'?" she asked just as he caught her eye.

He fell in step with her, glancing over his shoulder at the unfortunate soul he had just tormented. "Of course – I've got to keep you people in line, after all…and what possessed you to choose Guatemala Antiqua? That stuff's worse than battery acid."

"Oh, I don't know – doesn't seem so bad once you put so much cream and sugar in it that you can't even tell it's coffee anymore."

Chad frowned. "Doesn't that defeat the purpose of actually _ordering_ coffee?" he lifted his chin in farewell as they neared the elevators and Andrea shook her head in disbelief at having yet another normal conversation with the man. _This is steadily going beyond 'weird', Andrea_. _And yet…__ I __**did**__ enjoy talking to him last night._ Firmly putting aside the thought that Chad Shelten wasn't as bad as everyone thought he was, she returned to her desk to work on her latest case. Hopper was on the phone with Rita when she got back and she rolled her eyes at the repeated "I love you"s that Hopper was spouting, just to make him scowl across the desk at her.

"Okay, I'll ask her, baby…yeah, I love you too. See you tonight." He closed his cell phone and looked at her with a beseeching expression on his face. "Andrea?"

"What?"

"What are you doing this weekend?"

Andrea eyed him suspiciously. "Nothing, since I cut the dead weight loose….but you already knew that, so this must have something to do with the fact that Rita wants hardwood flooring."

At least he had the grace to look sheepish. "Well, yeah… she was wondering if you could possibly come over and help us move all the furniture around. But if you don't want to…"

"Yeah, that's real good, partner. Get me with the guilt trip. What time do you want me to be there?"

Brett grinned at her. "Can you be there by nine?"

"I suppose so."

Andrea knocked on Rita's door promptly at nine, smiling at her partner's girlfriend when the other woman opened the door. "Andrea! Thanks so much for coming, I really appreciate it…come on in." Boxes of various items were strewn across the floor in preparation for the contractor's arrival, and Rita pointed them out to her. "These need to be stacked in the bathtub, just to make sure nothing's broken…those go on the balcony, and for now we can just move the furniture from the living room to the bedroom since they'll work in here first and it'll give us time to move the stuff back." Rita ran her hands through her hair, frowning. "The couch and the heavier furniture will be harder to move, but I called Chad and he promised he'd stop by to help."

Oh. "You don't think the three of us are enough?" She wasn't about to confess how nervous she was about meeting Chad outside of work again…lately it seemed that she'd talked to him more in the past week than in her entire stint as an LAPD detective. It still felt exceedingly strange to her that she was starting to be on friendly terms with the man – one half of her felt that it was wrong because of the simple fact that he was, for all intents and purposes, the embodiment of IA. The other half of her felt it was wrong because of the tension between her partner and Chad. But when had she started calling him Chad in her own head? _This isn't a problem I really need in my life right now…_

Rita was just looking at her strangely. "Well, I don't know – I just thought it was better to be safe than sorry, and he _is_ really strong…"

Andrea smiled at her to relieve the other woman's anxiety and mask her own confusion. "I was just thinking about Brett turning into Diet Drama the instant Chad shows up. I know those two aren't exactly on pleasant terms," she said. "So, this one goes in the tub?"

She was busily fetching and carrying until the boxes were cleared from the room – Rita and Brett were in the kitchen moving some other things so that the contractor wouldn't knock them from the wall – and all that was left was the furniture. "It can't be that heavy," she told herself and walked over to the couch to study it. Bending her knees, she hooked her fingers under the bottom and lifted….and it came up off the floor with such ease that she nearly dropped it in startlement.

"It's really not _that_ heavy," a familiar voice said, and she peered around the bulky object to see a pair of blue eyes watching her in amusement. "Battle," he greeted with a nod.

"Shelten."

They stood there, holding the couch and staring at each other. "So, um, where does this go?" he finally asked, causing a flush to creep up her neck. What was the matter with her?

"On the balcony, I think."

"The balcony it is, then. Shall I go first? Most people don't like walking backwards," he suggested helpfully. She muttered something and he raised his voice suddenly. "Hey, Hopper – how about opening the door? Least you could do since you're letting your partner do most of the work," he called. Brett replied with something semi-rude but held the door open for them as they maneuvered the couch out onto the balcony. "Something tells me that he does that a lot," Chad observed, his eyes on Hopper's back as the other man went back to the kitchen where Rita was still packing.

"He's not a bad guy," she defended.

He turned back to her with an unreadable expression on his face. "I'll have to take your word for that because my personal experience says differently."

Andrea watched as he walked back over to pick up a small end table…this was the first time she'd ever seen him in something other than a suit and looking perfectly groomed, and she found that she liked the sight. _Not going there, Battle. He's IA, and an asshole._ But that didn't stop her from noticing that he looked much more approachable and appealing with the dusting of facial hair on his jaw that he hadn't shaved off yet, or how nicely the man filled out a pair of faded jeans. _Stop it, stop it, stop it…. _She also couldn't help but notice and admire the way his tee shirt stretched across his powerful chest and displayed biceps most men would die for. _Oh, God. I'm checking out __Shelten_ His hair was also a bit rumpled, and it made her wonder what it would look like if he grew it out a bit.

Chad lifted the end table easily and carried it out to drop it on the couch, turning to catch Battle looking at him with an appraising look in her eyes. She immediately looked away and went for another piece of furniture, and he frowned after her. Was she checking him out? _No, of course__ she's not__Nobody checks me out._ She turned to get something else, and he watched from the corner of his eye as her gaze lingered a second too long on his biceps. _Holy __shit, yes she i__s._ He flexed experimentally and her eyes flew back to watch. "Something the matter?" he asked innocently.

"What? No." She looked away and pretended to be absorbed in thinking of what needed to be moved next, then finally looked back at him. "What do they feed you boys over in IA?"

He smiled. "We take the human sacrifices the FBI doesn't want."

They worked together in silence as Rita came in to direct them, and he couldn't help comparing his ex-wife to the narcotics detective. About the only thing they had in common was a fondness for that jerk Hopper, and brown eyes. He flicked his over to Battle, who was bending over to tie her shoelace. _Nice ass._ _Not bad looking _elsewhere,_ either. _Would it be too weird to ask her out? Should he even be thinking about such a thing, despite the fact that he'd caught her checking him out? _Nah.__ Not going there._ But she sure looked cute with her hair in a messy ponytail like that. Maybe he should just take it easy – it looked like he was finally making a friend, so why should he mess it up by asking her on a date? _It's not a date if you're just friends, though._

Maybe he _would_ ask her out on a non-date. It figured that Hopper would have to choose this exact moment to come in and start putting his hands all over Rita, like he was just trying to make Chad jealous. Unfortunately, it was working and there was nowhere he'd rather be than away from them. Why'd he even agree to come over? Hopper just had to rub it in his face that he was the one who had Rita now… he ground his teeth together and slammed the end of the entertainment center to the floor just a little harder than he had meant to – the resultant crack made him sigh and glance over at Battle, who was looking at him again. "Hey, I'm gonna go for some coffee…you guys want something?" she asked suddenly. Rita placed her order, looking up at him like she knew exactly was going on. _Well, she __**should**__ know. Wasn't for her, __all __this wouldn't be happening_. "Coming, Chad?"

His head jerked up in surprise, and he looked from Rita to her, then at Hopper. Hopper looked as if he was ready to breathe fire at the mere thought of Chad going anywhere alone with his partner. "Yeah, sure. We can take my car." He shot Hopper a challenging look and followed the petite blonde out the door.

tbc…


	3. Chapter 3

"So, tell me something."

Chad glanced over. "Depends on what it is…Starbucks or Caribou?"

"Either's fine." Battle unbuckled her seat belt and opened the door as soon as he had pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car. "It's about Hopper." He sighed and climbed out as she circled around to wait for him.

"Go on…" He held the door open for her in the age-old gesture of courtliness and she smiled thanks as she passed him.

She scanned the menu board as she continued, and the question was enough to make him wish he'd never agreed to this little trip for coffee even though it got him away from both Hopper and Rita. "Every single time you two get together, you're at each other's throats. You were partners once, so was it Rita or something else?" She looked up at him. "It just seems like it's past time for you two to make peace once and for all. It's really not my business-"

"You're not wrong on that one." Like he needed to be psycho-analyzed while he was in line at Starbucks? "He put you up to this, or was it something you just came up with all by yourself?"

Battle turned to him and surprised him by putting her hand on his arm, a strange look in her eyes. "He didn't put me up to anything. You looked like you wanted out of there, and fast. It's just…it doesn't seem right."

"That's because it's not. Your turn to order," he pointed out. "I guess I could say that I appreciate the concern, but…"

"But you don't." She bent him another of those looks and placed her order, coming over to wait beside him while he pretended to be interested in watching the counter girl make some sort of latte. "Look, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable," she began.

Chad cut her off easily. "No, you're not." She wasn't, either – he could tell by the look on her face. He admired the way she'd just confronted him about his hostility towards Hopper, like she either didn't know or didn't care that he could put her through hell the next time she set foot in IA. Battle being how she was, he guessed it was the latter. She just smiled up at him and settled back to wait, one shoulder brushing up against him. _Is that on purpose, too?_ He wondered if she knew exactly what she was doing, or if this whole week had simply been one she would conveniently forget on Monday. _Maybe I'll wait and see before I ask her on that date that's not a date. Yeah, I'd better do that._ He'd run into more female officers than he cared to count who wanted to trade favors since he headed IA and could 'fix' things. Not to mention the _male_ officers, but that was certainly something that he didn't want to think about ever again.

He looked down at her, how she was leaning back against the counter like she didn't have a care in the world. She probably didn't, aside from whatever was going down with Danny Yan over in Chinatown…but he'd have plenty of time to ask her about that later. Chad _did_ enjoy how she stood up to him, though – not many did. Even Rita had always given in, but it'd never stopped him from pushing, just to see how much she would take before pushing back. Ultimately she'd folded every single time except the one that had really mattered. He suppressed a smile at the thought of Battle allowing him to order her around, and decided to conduct a little test. "What did you get?" he asked her, as if he hadn't heard when she had placed the order.

"Iced Vanilla Frappucino…why?"

"Cancel your order and get something hot – it's better to start your day with," he said loftily, crossing his arms and leaning back to wait.

Her response wasn't long in coming, either. Battle blinked and stared at him thoughtfully for a second before turning fully to confront him. "Despite the fact that you are about 300 lbs. heavier than I am, if you try to pull that 'control' crap on me again I will take you out right here and leave Shania over there to clean up the mess. This isn't work, Shelten – don't push me around."

Chad raised his hands in surrender, a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. "My mistake then, Battle. I hasten to tender my most humble and abject apologies."

Battle's mouth opened slightly when she realized he'd simply been messing with her, and she looked away sharply to hide a smile of her own. "It's Andrea."

Andrea. _ Guess we moved one step closer to the non-date, if she's letting me call her by her first name…shame, though. The name 'Battle' really suits her personality better. _He smiled at….Andrea…and tossed a few bills on the counter as the counter girl brought their order over.

Andea sighed and pushed the money back towards him. "I got it." First he was messing with her and trying to order her around, and now he was subtly trying the exact same thing again. "Remember what I just told you? That wasn't even two minutes ago," she reminded him. She suddenly wondered if he'd pulled these stunts with Rita.

The infuriating man just smiled and pushed it back. "If you allow me to pay for it that means you might feel as if you owe me something."

_Why, you…_ "The only thing I'll _owe _you is an insincere apology when I dump Hopper's espresso in your lap while you're driving back, hot shot." She surprised laughter from him, and smiled as she took the coffee over to collect napkins and sugar packets.

He came over after buying a bottle of water to lounge against the side of the counter and tease her about the amount of sugar she was emptying in her Frappucino. "Woman such as yourself, I'd think you'd pick the 'Komodo Dragon Blend'. Your teeth will fall out with all that crap you're putting in there," he observed cheerfully.

Andrea gracefully ignored the 'Komodo Dragon' comment and snapped the lid on her cup. "Everything's better with more sugar," she instructed. "Maybe if you had more of it you'd – no, wait. I think the whole "spawn of Satan" thing you've got going on would just cancel it out."

"Ha, ha."

They drove back to Rita's in companionable silence, but Andrea was able to see the tension returning to the big man's frame as he turned off the engine and glanced over at the house. "I don't think anyone would blame you if you didn't come back in," she tried.

Chad looked over at her. "No, she asked me to help her and I said that I would. It doesn't really matter how much I regret it now," he finished in a thoughtful tone that she knew wasn't meant for her ears. "Shall we?"

They walked up the steps together and she just shook her head as he sidled past her and grabbed the tray from her hands, giving her some line about delicate women not needing to carry heavy objects. She shook her fist at him in warning and was rewarded by another of those smiles that seemed to come out of nowhere. _He sure looks a lot different when he's not being himself. Or is _this_ the real him?_ She wouldn't mind finding out…they'd had a lot to talk about both at that party and when they were getting coffee, after all. Perhaps if she asked him to dinner? _A date with Sergeant Slaughter?__ Are you crazy?_ She told herself. Maybe just lunch, then. _Or not…lunch still counts as a date._

As they all resumed working – Chad had gone back to it immediately to avoid having to be in the same room with Hopper – she thought about it some more as she tried to sneak some looks his way. The man wasn't at all bad looking; on the contrary, he was rather easy on the eyes…when he wasn't being a holy terror. _Nice ass._ She'd caught him looking at hers earlier, too. _If all else fails and he goes back to being a bastard to me at work, I can at least threaten him with a claim of sexual harassment, _she thought, amused. His phone rang and Rita rolled her eyes at Andrea. "Okay, I think this is nearly done…the contractor's on his way over now."

Hopper pulled his girlfriend into his arms, kissing her cheek while she snuggled close. "We can stay at my place tonight if he doesn't get it finished today, baby."

Andrea winced as Chad ducked through the door. "Rita? I gotta go, so…" the muscles in his jaw tightened as he took in the scene, and he flicked his eyes over to her. "I guess I'll see you later. Battle," he inclined his head in farewell and walked out the door. She watched him leave and just as he reached his car she felt a strange urge to _do_ something.

"Oops, think I forgot something in Sunshine's car – be right back," she said hurriedly, and ran after him. "Hey, Chad!"

He turned slightly. "Yeah?"

"What're you doing tomorrow?" she blurted before she could help it. _Oh, God. What made me come out here_ _And what the hell made me ask that?_

"Why do you want to know?" he asked suspiciously. "If this is about making me come back and move all that shit back inside, you can forget it."

Despite herself, she smiled. "No, that's not it. I mean, well…oh, never mind. Forget I asked. I better go back and help."

Chad called her back when she turned to leave. "I go running on Sundays, actually." Andrea turned back to him as he rubbed the back of his neck and coughed. "You know, if you want-"

"Okay."

"Yeah?"

"Why not? Where and when?" She glanced over her shoulder to see Hopper peering over the balcony at them. "Can I have a pen or something?"

Chad blinked at her. "Um. What?"

"I said I forgot something in your car," she explained, a blush rising to her cheeks.

He pointed a finger at her suddenly. "You're turning red…were you asking me on a-"

"No. Were _you_ asking-"

"No."

"That's good, because-"

"Uh-huh."

"Yeah."

"So, meet you by the station at seven?"

"Sounds good…wait, as in seven a.m.?" Chad gave her one of his patented "looks" and got in the car. "I'll be there," she yelled after him as he drove off.

"You'll be where?"

She nearly jumped out of her skin as Hopper appeared behind her, scowling. "Damn it, Hopper – don't sneak up on me. You're lucky I left my sidearm in the car."

Hopper put his hands on his hips, scowling after the black SUV that was turning a corner up ahead. "What was all that about? Is he trying to get something over on you in IA that you're not telling me about?"

Andrea started to laugh – of course Hopper would have no idea of what was _really_ going on…sometimes the man could be so blind it was nearly frightening. Still, if he didn't know then she wasn't about to tell him that she was basically going on a date with his nemesis tomorrow morning. "It's nothing I can't handle by myself," she assured him. "What's left to do?" They walked back to the house and she listened with half an ear, too busy thinking about the confusion she felt when she was around Chad these days. _Maybe by tomorrow, things will be sorted out…_

"It's good to see someone smiling and happy," Rita greeted her as she walked back in. "Mr. Sourpuss right here needs to take lessons."

Was she smiling?

She glanced in the hallway mirror to find that yes, she was. _It would probably kill__ them both to find out just who__ put that smile there._

tbc…


	4. Chapter 4

Seven o'clock came, and seven o'clock went without so much of a hint of Andrea Battle. He hadn't really been expecting her to show, so he wasn't worried about it – he just finished stretching and dropped to one knee to make sure the laces on his shoes were tight enough. Switching to the other to tighten the remaining lace, he heard her drive up in that boat of hers, apologizing for being late and attempting to blame it on traffic. "It's nothing to me if you stayed out too late with your boyfriend," he said mildly, standing to look at her. _Good, at least she seems to know how to dress properly for a run_. He'd seen plenty of women who seemed to think that going jogging meant that it was an occasion to wear as much makeup as they could slather on and an obscene amount of jewelry, as well as wearing matching clothing that was entirely unsuitable for exercise – most of them thought that they were on a fashion parade or something.

Andrea just rolled her eyes at him. "I don't have a boyfriend…but why do you people always insist on getting up at the ass crack of dawn for this sort of thing?"

_Ass crack of dawn?_ His amusement at her quip nearly overrode the pleasure he felt that she was single. "Such harsh language for my tender ears to absorb this early in the morning – and it's even Sunday! Shame on you for swearing on the Sabbath, Detective."

She grinned up at him and dropped into a low crouch, stretching. "What about you? Shouldn't you be worried about your alleged immortal soul for poking fun?"

"Nah, that's why I always go for a run on Sunday mornings…keeps me at least one stride ahead of the lightening bolts." He tried to keep his tone level as she unconsciously offered him a view right down her shirt. _Niiiiice_ Chad suddenly had an idea where they could go running…nice and private. Well, to a point. "How about going up to Santa Monica for a run on the beach? It's usually deserted this time of day."

Andrea shrugged. "Sounds good to me, but you could've called to let me know before I came down here."

_Oh, this is going perfectly – couldn't have planned it any better_. "I don't have your phone number." At her next suggestion, he obediently retrieved his cell to enter her number into the phone book and tossed it back inside with what he thought was the right amount of 'casual'. "So, you ready to go? We can take mine," he assured her when she cast a glance back at her car. How old _was_ that thing?

"I don't know, we could go in separate cars…"

"If I were you, I'd be afraid that crappy old boat of yours would veer towards the nearest body of water and take you in with it – what's it called, the S.S. Andrea?" Chad unlocked the passenger door. "Get in; I'm able to write off the gas as an expense. Now all we need is to find a junkie either snatching a purse or flashing some old lady to make the paperwork easier." She sighed and climbed in after stating how horrible he was, spending the entire drive to Santa Monica asking questions about his work in IA that she knew he wasn't supposed to tell her about. He greeted each barrage of questions with noncommittal grunts and outrageous speculation until she finally dropped the subject as he parked the car.

Andrea resumed stretching as soon as she saw Chad doing so, and she looked around slowly. He'd been right; this was a lot better than just running through the streets and breathing in exhaust fumes. She snuck another peek at him and nearly lost her balance in shock to see that he'd taken his shirt off. _Holy…wow._ _Oh, wow. __Just….__**wow**__ Wow. _It'd been hard enough to concentrate when he'd had his clothes _on_, but now she was going to have to deal with a shirtless Chad Shelten traipsing around next to her in nothing but black track pants and sneakers. Andrea was currently favored with a view of the muscular sergeant's back, so she felt perfectly justified in ogling shamelessly. Just how stupid _was_ Rita? And did the front view of him look nearly as good as the back?

He turned to catch her staring and she was instantly reassured that there was not a thing wrong with the front view, either. _Holy cow.__ I don't think I'll ever be able to look at him at work again without seeing this…_ "Something wrong?" he asked, a smug smile forming on his lips.

Well, maybe Rita had some justification for the divorce…but Andrea was beginning to think that Chad's ex-wife had simply not known how to handle him properly. _You could__ handle him properly…in all the ways that matter_, a voice in her head sing-songed. She shook her head to clear it and pasted an unimpressed look on her face. "I think we need to take you to the hospital, Chad – looks like you've come down with a serious case of Captain Kirk Syndrome."

"Huh?"

"Your shirt – it seems to have gone missing on us."

He waved a hand in dismissal. "Oh, I'm sure it'll turn up later. Are we running or not?"

Well, two could play _this_ game. "Just a minute." She stripped off her shirt so that she was left in _her_ track pants and sports bra. "Something wrong?" she mocked when he began his turn at the ogling.

Chad eyed her appraisingly. "Everything looks fine from here," he teased with a wink. Oh, good God. They were flirting openly. Did that make this a date, after all? She sternly warned the voices in her head to stop acting so surprised and took him up on his next offer to allow her to touch his biceps. "Licking costs extra, though."

She sighed mock-wistfully as they started in a slow jog towards the water. "And me without my American Express card."

"We can always go back and get it," he offered.

They settled into an easy rhythm together, and she couldn't stop from smiling at the thought of how they must look together – Chad was obviously not running as fast as he normally did, and was shortening his strides to match with her…but then she wasn't really trying that hard. It was nice to get out for a change and relax with someone who wasn't intimidated by her, as well – that had been the main problem with her last boyfriend and made it nearly impossible for her to build a lasting relationship with anyone. _Maybe it's time to try again…we'll see what happens._ The thought of Chad Shelten being anyone's _boyfriend_especially hers was somewhat humorous, yet… maybe his problems with women, Rita included, were one and the same with her problems with men. She dropped back behind him as her shoelace came untied, and she knotted it hurriedly before taking off to try and catch up. "Chad, slow _down!_" Andrea yelled as the jerk purposely increased his pace so that she struggled to try and catch him, then suddenly stopped dead so that she crashed into his back and nearly fell down. "Hey…!"

"Did you just grab my ass?" he asked suspiciously, turning to look down at her.

Andrea glared. "No."

"Oh." He nodded solemnly. "Well, do you want to?"

"_No."_

"Just checking, don't get excited." Chad pointed down the beach. "Look, a flasher. I told you we'd see one…let's go scare him."

He loped off before she could stop him. "He's just changing into swim trunks," she yelled, and he tossed a grin back over his shoulder at her in a blatant challenge for her to stop him. "Damn it," she sighed, starting to run after him. _Head of IA__ and sometime asshole__ as well as a __total __nutjob_Of course, she could never admit to him that she thought it was funny how easily he manipulated everyone he came across – well, when it wasn't her on the receiving end of his twisted schemes. Right now he was bellowing at the surfer to stop "in the name of the law" and his hapless victim was rooted to the sand in shock at the half-nude colossus barreling towards him. At this point, she just wanted to see what he'd do next.

Surfer Dude was cowering away from Chad when she reached them. "Hey, man – I was just changin' into my shorts…chill, dude."

Chad put his hands on his hips and leveled his best 'I know what you did and I'm taking you down' look at the skinny teenager. "I received a report from a resident that a young punk fitting your description was harassing a group of elderly ladies earlier this morning…and here I find you, naked as a jaybird. I think I'll have to call this in."

The young man's eyes widened in horror. "Yo, take it easy, please don't – Dad's gonna _kill _me…!"

"Indecent exposure isn't something I can simply let you get away with. Detective Battle, call it in while I get some information from our little friend here." Andrea thought the boy was going to start crying as he stammered out apologies and swore to never change his clothes on the beach ever again. Chad pretended to pause to reconsider and sent the kid off with a stern word of warning while Andrea tried her best to keep a straight face. _I seem to do a lot of smiling around him these days._

Chad crossed his arms across his chest and nodded in satisfaction. "There, now the mileage report will be perfectly justified." He glanced over at Andrea, who was turning an interesting shade of red as she tried to keep from laughing. She really did have a nice smile, he thought as he watched her. For the first time since he'd been with Rita, he felt relaxed enough to drop the act he always put on whenever he stepped foot in LAPD headquarters. Maybe he should ask her on a real date. _Wouldn't that be too soon__, though__? I don't want another situation like _her. But Andrea Battle couldn't be more different than Rita, and he was beginning to think that it was a good thing.

After she'd divorced him and left, he'd tried to find someone just like her…but trying to find a replacement for someone he probably should never have even been with in the first place was never a good idea, and it certainly hadn't worked. It was most likely a worse idea asking someone he worked with out on a date – a real one – but there was something about Andrea that drew him to her. He'd kept an eye on her as soon as he'd learned that she was to be Hopper's new partner, and it had always intrigued him how independent she was. Maybe all that crap about opposites attracting was just that – crap. Maybe… it was time to move on past Rita and whatever he thought they still had. _She_ didn't act like there was anything left for her, so why shouldn't he get on with his life? He knew it wasn't as easy as just making the decision, but maybe he could do it. Maybe. _That's a lot of maybes__, Shelten_

He waited courteously until she'd regained control of herself once more, and they continued their run while he kept a tight rein on his thoughts and simply let himself enjoy her company as well as the envious glances from the other men on the beach. "So, had enough?" she asked when they stopped a second time for water.

"Do you have someplace you need to be?" he asked in startlement, checking his watch.

Andrea shook her head as she reached up to re-tie her ponytail. "Not really, no. I just promised my dad that I'd stop by today…"

"Oh, sorry – we can head back to our car, then." Chad heard what he had just said and sighed. "I mean, _my_ car."

They jogged back to where he had parked the somewhat dirty black SUV and he was pleased to see that she knew enough to stretch once more before getting back in the car. Driving in silence back to where her car was, he mentally rehearsed. _Andrea, would you like to go for coffee next Friday? No, that's stupid – she gets coffee all the time. Um, okay. Would you be interested in terrifying more innocent surfers with me? No… damn it! How am I supposed to ask her? It's been too long, I just don't know…_ "Chad? Chad! Are you listening to me?"

He jerked his head over to look at her. "What? Yes, I was listening."

"Then what did I just say?"

Weren't they only supposed to use that tone of voice on husbands or something? "Well, you said something and it was interesting, only I didn't hear it because I, uh, wasn't….listening. Sorry."

Andrea unbuckled her seat belt, turning to look at him. "First I said 'thank you' for making me get up so early, then I said that you were positively certifiable. And _t__hen_ I asked you if you wanted to go for dinner next Friday."

"Are you asking me on a-"

"Yes."

He felt his eyes widen in shock. "Really?"

"Yes."

Chad thought about it, confused. _She just asked me out. No one asks me out. But she just did._ _So I guess I should say yes or something._ "Uh. Okay."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You don't sound too enthusiastic about it," she said after a while.

He had a chance to regain his equilibrium at her sarcastic remark, and smirked over at her. "I'm only waiting until you leave so I can scream like a little girl in the privacy of my own car."

"If you say so," she said dubiously, but smiled at him nonetheless. "See you at work." Then she was out of the car and over at hers, and he could breathe again. And he was breathing in the air she had used when she had asked him on a date. He was actually going on a date. A real date – he was jerked back to reality when she opened the car door again. "Hey, I left my cell phone…is something the matter?"

"What? No…you just interrupted me mid-squeal." Chad watched her root around under the seat for her phone and hold it up triumphantly when she found it. "See you later," he said automatically as she smiled a farewell at him and left for her own car. He sat in silence a few moments longer, watching her drive away, before he began to laugh. He, Chad Shelten, had a date.

He couldn't wait for Hopper to find out about it.


	5. Chapter 5

The week seemed to go on forever, now that she finally had plans for when it ended. Andrea drummed her fingers against her desk unconsciously, thinking of her upcoming date with Chad. She was quickly becoming used to the idea of him as a possible partner and, if she was completely honest with herself, possible lover. He took up way too much of her dream time and was a good deal more than distracting whenever she saw him in person – which was not as frequent as she might have thought; he didn't make a point to crowd her and only came down to Narcotics if he had actual business there, which was a pleasant surprise. Andrea knew that he expected her to back out at the last minute; if it were her, she'd be worried about it herself…but she found that the prospect of being in control of the date was very, very attractive.

She finally decided upon the restaurant she'd take him to and made reservations, smiling at the thought of the cocky, stubborn IA Head's reaction to it. "Something funny? I could use a joke," Hopper sighed from across the desk as he flipped the case file closed with one finger.

_Let's see if he catches on… _"I was just thinking about what Shelten would do if he was ever trapped in a Moroccan restaurant on a date."

"First someone would have to ask that tool _out _on a date, which isn't likely to happen in our lifetime." Hopper frowned over at her. "What on earth made you think of something like that in the first place?"

_Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that I'm the one that asked him?_She shook her head in response, letting him interpret that whichever way he chose. His phone rang and it was one of his contacts so she leaned back in her chair, zoning out to think of running on the beach and the way a certain sergeant looked without a shirt. Her fantasy about watching shirtless Chad jog in slow motion down the beach came to an abrupt end when their lieutenant slapped some files on her desk on his way past and she nearly fell backwards in alarm. "You're not being paid to daydream, Detective – I want something concrete on my desk by Monday about that case you're working on."

Shit, that meant she'd have to visit Danny Yan and see about arranging a stakeout. And _that_ meant no date… She glanced over at Hopper, still on the phone with his CI, and an idea came to her. Andrea remembered the first time he'd asked Rita out and, to the best of her knowledge, the woman still had no idea that their going for Korean barbecue wasn't a split-second decision while driving by the restaurant. Maybe she could use that on Chad? All she'd have to do was to get the name and schedule of one of the men she'd been gathering information on and the date would take care of itself. She tapped her finger on her files to get Hopper's attention. "Gotta go see my CI – have fun," she mouthed as she grabbed her jacket on her way out.

The trip to Chinatown didn't take as long as she expected, but she was a bit concerned how Chad would react when she told him where they were going so she resolved to keep their destination as much of a surprise as she could. With any luck, he would simply think it was funny. Hopper was gone when she got back to the station to pick up some reimbursement forms and after she filled them out quickly, she headed to IA where she found Chad immersed in a stack of files. Leaning inside the door and ignoring the look of disapproval being aimed at her from the newbie at the desk in the hall, she rapped her knuckles against the glass. Chad lifted his eyes from the papers in front of him, lips parting to reprimand whosoever had the audacity to interrupt what Andrea privately termed as "File Time," when his eyes focused on her. "May I help you, Detective?"

Andrea grinned at the expression on his face; he looked a bit disappointed that she wasn't someone he could yell at with impunity. "I need to know where you live."

"Excuse me?" He frowned and glanced past her to where Newbie was hovering just within earshot. "Close the door, please, Detective Battle…" When she had done so and Newbie was wearing a 'curses, foiled again' look on his face, he returned his attention to her. "Why, exactly, do you need to know?"

She tilted her head slightly, trying not to let any of her inner amusement break through. "If a woman asks a man on a date, she needs to know where she can pick him up."

"But I thought…" He broke off to eye her suspiciously for a moment, then slowly wrote his address on a slip of paper he fished out from a desk drawer and pushed it across the desk to her. "Why do I have the feeling that I might regret this?"

Picking up the paper and slipping it into her pocket, Andrea finally allowed herself to smile at him. "I have no idea why you would, Sergeant. I'll pick you up at six; dress code is business casual, but bring a sweater." She left him staring after her thoughtfully, and smirked at Newbie on her way past.

Andrea hadn't canceled on him after all. Though there was something about her smile he didn't quite trust, like she was trying to put something over on him… he scowled into the partially-fogged mirror as he stepped from the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist. He didn't like not having control over the situation, and it was irritating that she hadn't told him what to expect.

Chad pulled on a faded pair of jeans and a white long sleeved shirt, searching for his boots and the blue sweater he _knew_ was in his closet somewhere. Well, unless Rita had taken it. _ She probably __did,__ the __klepto_… for all he knew, she'd stolen it and Hopper was wearing it now. He sat on the edge of his bed, staring the opposite wall with his stomach in knots. Was he really ready to start again, if just the thought of Rita made him feel this hopeless and the fact that she had moved on and found somebody new made him feel this worthless? He rubbed his hands over his face slowly, trying to relax before Andrea arrived and he couldn't bring himself to go anywhere with her. He'd thought that Rita had wanted him for himself, and he'd been happy – truly _happy _for once. But then she'd discovered that he wasn't the man she'd wanted him to be…and then she'd left him and he was alone. The thought of it happening again with anyone else was almost more than he could bear. Glancing at his watch and noting the time, he sighed and quickly laced up his boots; as he was turning to leave he caught sight of the elusive sweater. _Maybe that'__s a sign or something__, saying I should just relax? Yeah, right._ _Like I could._

Picking up a book on physics, he tried to read until she arrived but couldn't settle enough to even make sense of the first paragraph and paced nervously until the sound of a knock at the door made him nearly jump out of his skin. After double checking his breath and scrubbing at the side of his face to make sure he didn't have too much aftershave on, he opened the door just as Andrea prepared to knock a second time so that she rapped her knuckles on his collarbone. "Oh! I'm sorry, are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

As she reached up to lay her palm against his skin, the anxiety he had felt earlier dissipated with an abruptness that nearly made him weak with relief. "I think I'll live," he assured her. "Would you like to come in, or would that throw off any plans you've made…?" Chad found that his previous irritation had gone as well, and he was now ready to see if he could handle anything she could throw at him. He was pleased when she accepted his invitation and stepped inside, so he showed her every room except one. "Oh, my dog's in there. He doesn't usually take to new people too well, so…"

She gave him that little head tilt. "Can I see him? What breed is he? What's his name?"

"He's a pitbull and I, uh, named him Meredith." He looked thoughtfully at the door as Andrea laughed at the name, then decided he might as well take the chance and see what Meredith thought of her. "You don't mind pitbulls, do you? He can act mean, but he's actually a real sweetheart."

"No, I'd love to meet Meredith." He asked her to stay outside the door while he went in and took hold of the pitbull's collar, trying not to let the dog drool all over his leg, and then called Andrea in. Meredith's ears perked to attention when the blonde came in and knelt in the doorway, but he didn't seem to be upset by her presence so Chad walked with him when he felt the need to inspect the newcomer. Meredith simply sniffed Andrea curiously, then began to wag his tail as Chad exhaled in relief and Andrea petted him. "He's…well, not exactly _beautiful_, but I like him," she said softly.

"Wait until he sneaks up to hump your leg when you're least expecting it," Chad said dryly, pleased that she'd won Meredith's approval – he'd always had to keep the pitbull locked up whenever Rita was around. He followed Andrea out to her car when she signaled that it was time for them to get going to wherever it was she was taking him, and sighed as he got in. "I feel much too large for this car."

Andrea looked over at him shifting uncomfortably, and looked away to keep from laughing. "You _do_ make it look like a clown car or something," she teased. "Think you can survive until we get there?"

Aha, a chance to learn where they were going! "And where is that, exactly?" he asked casually.

"You'll find out soon enough," was her laughing rejoinder.

"Damn it." He tried unsuccessfully to pry the information from her as they drove, and they ended up at some sort of indoor arena. He looked around quickly and caught sight of several children clinging to their parent's hands, glancing back over at Andrea who was having the devil's own time keeping a straight face. "Andrea?" She wasn't looking at him, _why_ wasn't she looking at him? "Andrea," he said insistently. Still nothing. "That big purple dinosaur isn't in there, is it? Andrea, look at me - _Andrea_!"

She just kept her face turned away from him and got out of the car. As they were walking towards the whatever-it-was, a familiar chirping sound made him stop dead in his tracks. "You've got to be kidding me… the SS Andrea has a car alarm?"

He tried to get a glimpse of what exactly they were headed into, and even attempted to look over his date's shoulder at the tickets she produced for the men at the door. Chad could hear the excited shouts of children inside and started to become very, very apprehensive about this whole "dating again" business. As they walked up the shadowed incline into the light, he stopped and stared in shock at the banner hanging from the ceiling above the ice rink. It read, "Welcome to the Ice Capades!"

"Detective Battle."

It took her a while to answer, but when she did it sounded as if she were close to hysteria. "Yes, Sergeant Shelten?"

"There's something wrong with your brain."

Andrea fought for control and finally succeeded, although the look on Chad's face was beyond priceless. He blinked and looked around slowly as she led the way to their seats, and under the pretense of getting their food she used the extra time to locate the man she was following. Well, the man _they_ were following, really. Chad had no idea that she was using their date as a stakeout, and she hoped to keep it that way. She picked out the healthiest thing she could find for him to eat because although he hadn't said as much, she figured that he wasn't the type to go for junk food. His teasing disapproval of the amount of sugar she dumped in her coffee, coupled with the shape he kept himself in pretty much gave _that_ away. Although his hooting reaction to her car alarm tempted her to order him three chili dogs with the works. _Serve him right, too._ After finally deciding on their food, she brought it back to him and he thanked her so graciously she wasn't sure what was going on. What, exactly, had changed while she was at the concession stand? "Have you ever been to the Ice Capades before?" she asked as the show started.

Chad smiled over at her. "No." _This is just getting creepy. He's…smiling. _"Hey, look – a giant skating blueberry," he exclaimed, pointing. Her next shock came when he put his arm over the back of her seat suddenly and leaned in close, as if to kiss her cheek. "So, who are we watching? Bottom left, or middle?"

"Excuse me?"

"I may not have ever been to the Ice Capades before, but I _have_ been on a stakeout before. So which one is it?"

Crap. He was onto her.

tbc…


	6. Chapter 6

When Chad confronted Andrea about their 'date', she had the grace to look sheepish about it, but quickly confessed the reason why she had simply tried to keep him in the dark about it…she'd obviously forgotten that he'd once been in her shoes as far as stakeouts were concerned. She explained that she had thought that if she canceled on him, he would take it as lack of interest on her part and she might not get another chance. Andrea was watching the man she'd come to follow around and Chad split his attention between her, the man hosting a birthday party for his son, and the skating fruit in the middle of the arena. But his eyes rested most often on her, and his mind dwelled on the fact that she hadn't bothered to dislodge his arm from the back of her seat.

The man they were keeping an eye on got up, presumably for a trip to the restroom, and Chad offered to follow – she blinked in surprise, but thanked him as he left. He watched the man enter the restroom and followed him back to the arena at a safe distance, using the pretense of buying a souvenir for Andrea as cover. "Here, I got you a light-up spinning thing that you have absolutely no use for," he greeted her as he slid back into his seat, handing over the whatever-it-was.

Her eyes shone with suppressed laughter as she accepted the gift. "I'll treasure it always," she said solemnly as she sat back to inspect her present. "So, bathroom?"

Chad nodded in confirmation. "Bathroom." Below them on the ice, a large orange had joined the blueberry and he was about to point this out to Andrea when he saw her lift her arm as if to stretch. _No way. Oh, this is too good._ He watched out of the corner of his eye as she reached slowly across over, and he slid slightly lower in his seat just as she dropped her arm across his shoulders. He seriously considered theatrically begging her to hold him tighter, but ultimately decided against it – he was having far too much fun watching her try to put the moves on him. It was actually very nice to have someone _willing_ to put the moves on him, since his behavior tended to repel women in droves….but it was slightly ridiculous for someone so much shorter than he was trying to put her arm around him – it looked as if she were about to fall from her seat. And she was trying her hardest to make it seem as if she weren't really doing what she was doing.

He decided to take pity on her, and offered to throw out her empty cup with the excuse that he had a leg crap – Andrea promptly lifted both her arms in a parody of stretching as he stood, undoubtedly relieved that she wouldn't have to pull her arm from its socket any longer. When he returned to his seat, he saw that she seemed slightly embarrassed about her earlier action and leaned over to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, whispering to her. "So, where do you think he'll be headed next?" he murmured, letting his lips brush over her skin.

"He'll, uh, probably leave early – his nephew is right there to the left" she pointed "so I think he'll most likely head back to the club before the hour's up. We can leave when he does, so don't worry."

Chad smiled at her, moving his leg closer to hers so that their knees touched and pressed lightly. "I'm not worried."

She pressed back against him. "Good."

They spent the remainder of their time laughing over the absurdity of the costumes and pointing out the most obnoxious children present, all the while keeping an eye on the small group below them – when the man showed signs of restlessness, that was their cue to leave. Andrea expressed her irritation about not being able to follow the man into the club (for he indeed went back to the strip club and neither of them were dressed for such a place, as the other patrons were wearing suits) so Chad tried his best to keep her amused by suggesting they tell each other stories. When she arched an eyebrow at him, he explained further. "Yeah, you tell me something – it can be true or not, but I have to guess if it's a lie. I'll go first." He launched into a tale concerning Detectives Spivak and Choi and a fairly embarrassing situation he found the two of them in. "…and it was in the interrogation room," he finished with a straight face.

"That's definitely a lie – I can't see the two of them doing such a thing," she laughed.

"I wish I hadn't seen it, either… is that your guy coming back out?" he interrupted himself to point to the door and she swore, reaching for her camera as the man emerged with another dealer she was acquainted with.

After getting several pictures and sitting back in satisfaction as the two men went their separate ways, she began her story about her lieutenant, a pot of coffee, and a crack whore that made him shake his head and call it as a lie immediately. "What makes you so sure that it's a lie?" she asked mock-indignantly.

"Because Graves doesn't drink coffee anymore after I told him Detective Andrews – did you ever meet Andrews? – liked to piss in the filters every morning."

Andrea hooted with laughter. "You did _not_! Did he really?"

"Does it matter? Graves believed it, and that's good enough for me."

She shook her head as she started the car. "You're slightly psychotic, Sergeant Shelten." Driving back to his house in companionable silence, she parked in front and seemed to hesitate about unbuckling her seat belt, carefully not looking at him. "So, um, sorry again about the stakeout situation….maybe I could make it up to you tomorrow night?"

Chad reached for his sweater in the back seat. "I'm busy tomorrow night; I've got a….thing."

"Oh. Like a date or something," she said, still not looking at him. He looked over and saw her face as she glanced over, and he had to smile at the disappointment she couldn't quite hide. "It doesn't matter to me," she huffed. "Go ahead and laugh."

_Well, no time like the present, Shelten_… he reached out and placed a finger under her chin, turning her towards him. "Andrea, look at me; there's no date."

She swallowed as he moved closer. "Really? I mean, it's not like I care if you-" Chad silenced her by brushing his lips over hers lightly in a kiss, drawing back slightly to look at her. Andrea's eyes were half-closed, and her lips were still parted slightly – it didn't look like she objected at all, so he leaned in again and kissed her as thoroughly as he knew how. This time, she seemed to wake up as soon as his mouth slanted over hers and then she was reaching for him, sliding her fingers through his hair and caressing his face.

Yes, Rita _definitely _had to be certifiable – there was no other way to explain it, Andrea thought deliriously as she clung to Chad's shoulders. A small part of her thought it was highly amusing that they were necking like teenagers in the car, but the rest of her couldn't give a damn. _Lordee, but the man can kiss_. She felt the rumble of his laughter under her hand on his chest when she protested his withdrawal. "I need air," he protested, twining one of her curls around a finger. "For some reason, I feel like my mother will start turning on the porch light at any moment," he laughed.

Andrea smirked. "Does this mean you've had enough, Momma's Boy?"

"What do _you_ think?" She shrieked when he lunged over and dragged her across the console into his lap, silencing her once more in the way that worked so well before. Andrea briefly wondered about seeming too easy but despite the fact that they were currently acting like a pair of adolescents, they were both adults and could handle themselves just fine. Chad was certainly handling _her_ fine at the moment… she ran her palms over his muscular chest while one of his hands slipped beneath her shirt to caress her back, and she sighed against his lips. Their kisses steadily grew more heated until he broke away from her with a groan, his chest heaving beneath her hands. "Andrea, stop… I've got to wake up early tomorrow and- oh, fuck it." He yanked her back for another kiss and she took the opportunity to get her hands under his shirt, sliding her palms sensuously against his warm skin.

She slumped against him, swearing when her foot accidentally hit the scanner and turned it on, jolting them out of the moment as effectively as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water on them. "Sorry," she mumbled against his collarbone, feeling him begin to laugh.

"I think that's my cue to leave," he joked, extricating himself from her gently and helping her back in the driver's seat. "I think we've given old Mrs. Marino over there enough of a show as it is."

Andrea's eyes widened in horror as she glanced across the street to see the curtains on a nearby house flutter closed suddenly. "Oh, my God - was she watching the entire time?"

"Probably. Doesn't get out much these days…call you Sunday?" he offered as he stepped from the car. She nodded, unaccountably shy after what they'd been doing earlier, and he leaned back in to give her another kiss before lifting a hand to wave at Mrs. Marino's curtains and giving her a wink. "Later, Battle."

"Maybe, Shelten." She drove to her place and busied herself with cleaning the house before she sank down on the couch and flipped on the television, thinking of Chad. She wondered how long it would be before either he would invite her to spend the night or she would simply drag him into her house whether he wanted to accompany her or not. Andrea laughed at this last thought, since it had been very apparent from where _she_ had been sitting that he wouldn't have complained a bit. She wondered what was going on the next day that would keep him so busy – he'd said it wasn't a date, but what else would it could be? She resolved to get it out of him the next time they saw each other, and went to sleep smiling.

As luck would have it, she missed Chad's call on Sunday due to a visit to her CI in Chinatown, but was greeted with the sight of a small stuffed 'Barney' on her desk Monday morning. As it held a stem of daisies and a card in its little purple…paws that read _Next __Friday?_, Hopper was on her case the entire morning trying to find out who had sent it as soon as she stopped laughing. "I already read the card," he told her. "You can never be too careful, these days…but who-"

She glared. "So _that's_ why it was open! You don't see me opening things Rita's sent you."

"Well, Rita didn't send that… look, we're partners, you can tell me," Hopper wheedled.

_Yeah, right._ _You'd have a heart attack, die, and everyone would blame me for it._ "It's not your business, Hopper."

He shot her a look that was probably meant to signify hurt feelings. "It's not Chad, is it?" he joked. "Let's go get some coffee."

Andrea followed him into the hall, shaking her head. When she saw the tall sergeant emerge from an office thumbing through a file, she couldn't help herself. "Yes, Hopper – it's Chad and I just can't wait to shout my love for him from the rooftops. Look, there he is… excuse me, Sergeant Shelten?"

Chad looked up, the smile that was in his eyes dying as soon as he saw who was with her. "Detective," he greeted cautiously. "How can I help you – looking to get yourself a new partner? That's totally understandable."

"Hopper here is under the impression that we've been making wild and passionate love all over the building," she smirked, though her partner had said no such thing and was opening his mouth to protest.

Chad's eyelids flickered as he looked at her. "Really? Where was I during all this?" He began to look her up and down in a way that had Hopper nearly foaming at the mouth. "Next time you two start dreaming up these things, you might want to let me know about it – we could work something out." Chad shifted his gaze over to Hopper, tapping the file folder in his palm. "So, is this the way you usually spend time? Just wandering around instead of bringing in criminals who sell crack to little kids? I'll be sure to note that in your file…" he looked down at Andrea and raised an eyebrow. "…maybe even _both_ your files. Have a good one," he finished faux-politely and moved off.

"What an ass," Hopper growled.

"You're not half wrong there," Andrea agreed, glaring after the departing man. "Look, I think I'll just go back up and search through those case files again," she sighed, her desire for caffeine suddenly dissipating as she headed back to the elevators. She wasn't sure what had possessed her to confront Chad like that, and she also wasn't sure how he'd taken it.

The answer to _that_ was discovered shortly after she stepped into the elevator, too preoccupied with her own thoughts to realize who she had walked past until the elevator came to an abrupt halt and she was shoved against the wall. "What was that all about?" Chad asked, blue eyes shining with amusement as she ineffectually struggled against his hold.

"It's your own damn fault for sending me Barney – you knew he would ask me." She scowled up at him, but couldn't keep her arms from creeping around his neck automatically as he moved closer. "So where were you on Saturday? And should you be grabbing helpless females in elevators where anyone could just come in and see you?"

Chad grinned and dropped the file he'd been carrying on the floor. "I don't think you've ever been helpless a day in your life – and I have keys to the elevators." He bent to kiss her, and she responded eagerly. _A little kissing at work never hurt anyone, especially with the only man who could investigate me for doing it_ When her brain had been well and truly scrambled, he released her and pulled the keys from the door. "Hey, where's your coffee? And you never said about next Friday…" he picked up the papers he'd scattered and waited.

"You killed my caffeine urge by simply being yourself and no, I _didn't_ say about next Friday," she teased as the doors opened to admit one of the SWAT crew, who nodded at Chad as if they knew each other. She took pity on the alarm in his eyes as the elevator stopped at her floor, and smiled to herself as she stepped out. "You know where to find me on Friday, sergeant."

"You can bet that I do, Battle," he said threateningly for the benefit of their audience. She shook her head and walked on.


	7. Chapter 7

There was something in his eyesm Andrea thought, that she didn't quite trust. After accosting her in the elevator, Chad had returned to treating her as he had before their first date… she thought it might be because he was the one in control of their next outing, but every time she tried to get close enough to tempt him into her arms, he remained lsightly distant thought his flirtatious nature seemed fully operational.

Friday arrived and thoguth Chad had told her what time to expect him, he hadn't told her what to wear. So now she was in the car with him, dressed casually, while he was wearing a suit and looking as immaculately groomed as ever. "So, where are we going?" she asked finally, not expecting him to answer.

Chad glanced over. "We're going dancing."

Andrea sat up straight at this. "_Dancing?_ _You?_With…me?" Why hadn't he told her before now? She wasn't dressed for it. "You should have told me that we were going to a club," she reproved him.

"Who said anything about a club?" he asked, turning into the parking lot of the restaurant he had chosen. "Hope you don't mind Greek food, though it might not be a bad idea to avoid the Feta cheese," he teased her as he offered her his arm.

"Well, I don't know – if I have some it'd be the perfect thing to breathe up into your face later on…" She was in such a good mood all throughout a very pleasant dinner that she forgot she was supposed to be worried about their next destination. Well, until he drove her to a large building with a flashing neon sign that read, _Annie__'s School of Dance_. "Wait a minute," she said slowly, glaring over at him and getting a wide smile of glee in return. "Dancing lessons?"

Chad gave her an innocent look and got out of the car. "I thought all women want ballroom dancing lessons."

"I'm not all women," she snapped back, ignoring the fact that she had indeed wanted to learn.

"Of course you're not, how silly of me," he said in a mock-serious tone. 'C'mon, it'll be fun."

Andrea stubbornly dug her heels in, unwilling to simply let him get away with this. "But don't you already know how to dance? I mean, you must've taken lessons with Rita before your wedding," she said, then cursed herself for mentioning it as his face fell.

"Well, no. We eloped, actually – all that running off probably was the perfect practice for when she left me," he said sarcastically.

She felt like kicking herself. "I didn't mean to upset you," she said softly as she reached for his hands. "We're supposed to be having fun tonight and I had no right to bring that up. I'm sorry."

He looked past her left ear and rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I should stop being so sensitive about it, huh?"

"No, it's okay… I understand." She paused. "Do…do you want to talk about it?"

Chad gave her a sad smile. "I'm not sure I'm ready to, just yet."

"Well, I'm here whenever you decide you want to talk," Andrea said softly – she'd never thought to see this side of him, and hadn't even been sure it had even existed. She was so used to seeing him being his cocky, arrogant self and his current sadness tugged at her heart, making her want to cuddle the frown right off his face.

He studied his shoes, looking like an oversized little boy. "Okay." He cleared his throat. "So, um, do you want to…?" he hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the building, visibly struggling to regain his poise and she smiled up at him, squeezing his hands lightly.

"Okay." Standing on tip toe, she kissed him softly and was relieved to feel his arms coming around her in an embrace. "Don't think this means you'll be able to persuade me to let you in my house after the date is over, though," she teased, and was rewarded by his familiar cocky grin.

"What if I turn out to be really good at the tango and you just can't help yourself?" he teased back.

"In your dreams, Sarge!" she hooted.

He frowned. "Sarge? Nobody calls me Sarge."

"Someone does _now_," she pointed out. "Let's go – we mustn't keep Annie waiting…"

"Sure thing, Crackhead."

"Okay…_what_"

Chad arched an eyebrow at her as he slid his arm around her shoulders and guided her to the door. "Oh, you're the only one allowed to make up ridiculous nicknames? You're a narcotics detective, so that makes you 'Crackhead.'" He pushed open the door and she bit back another nasty comment as soon as she saw that they weren't the only couple attending lessons; the place was filled with a mixed bag of senior citizens, a few nervous-looking teens, and some middle-aged women who looked Chad up and down in such a suggestive way that it made Andrea grind her teeth. _Well, look at me getting territorial_._ Calm down, Battle._

A small woman whom she assumed to be Annie came up to them with a big smile. "Well, if it isn't Sergeant Shelten! And you would be Andrea," she said warmly, holding out a hand for Andrea to shake. "I have some things ready for you – we can go on through the back and pick whatever you like that fits."

Whatever fits? She looked up at Chad hesitantly, but he simply nodded encouragingly so she turned to follow the diminutive Annie through the curtains, stopping dead in shock when she was faced with racks of sequined dresses. "Wait a minute, I don't think-"

Annie cut her off by plucking a bright red number off the rack and holding it up to her. "This would look just _lovely_ on you, why don't you go try it on?" She pestered Andrea's size out of her and picked several more ball gowns out to have her try.

"Will everyone else be wearing these?" Andrea asked desperately, trying to postpone the inevitable.

"Let me know if you need anything else," Annie said hurriedly, scooting back through the curtains without answering the question.

Shit.

Chad folded his hands together impassively and waited for Andrea to emerge, ignoring the lustful glances aimed at him from the divorcees who were plainly out looking to score. One of the senior citizens came over to him. "So, bringing your sweetheart for dance lessons? She didn't look too happy," the woman rambled. "See my Arnie over there?" she pointed to a rather grumpy looking man with his pants pulled up almost to his armpits. "He hated the idea when we first started, but now he absolutely loves it," she cooed. "Why, the regular exercise has improved his health so much that we just threw away the rest of his Viagra!"

Oh, god. He didn't want to hear this. She blathered on until Arnie stalked over and put his arm around Rose (for that was her name) possessively, glaring at Chad as if he had something to worry about before he hauled Rose off to the other side of the room. Unfortunately, this seemed to be the signal for the divorcees to home in on him and one of them was moving in to try to cop a feel when the curtains he's been staring at desperately started to move. "Excuse me, I think my girlfriend needs some help over there," he said, bolting from his seat.

He was, unfortunately, too slow to escape a pinch on the ass but his Annoyance ceased to matter as soon as Andrea stalked through the curtains wearing a form-fitting white ball gown that had a deep vee in front and an even deeper one in the back. He stopped to stare as she stomped up to him so angrily that he wouldn't have been surprised to see cartoonish black clouds hanging over her head. She was beautiful. "I can't believe you," she hissed as the others in the room stopped to stare at her. "Everyone else here is in _jeans_ and you make me wear this!"

"I didn't make you do anything," he pointed out. "You didn't have to put that on…." He slid his arms around her and dropped his voice. "But I'm glad you did – you look wonderful."

_"Just_ wonderful?"

"Better than, I just don't know the right word to describe it," he said honestly, knowing that she'd just think he was being facetious. She smiled up at him, though, like she knew he was telling her the truth.

Annie came back in, slipping a CD in the player that sat in a corner of the room and clapping her hands to gain the attention of her students. "Okay, everyone pair off; we'll be starting off with a simple waltz…"

Chad guided Andrea through the steps, trying not to seem too good at it though Andrea narrowed her eyes at him a few times. Annie walked through the room and offered each couple advice, winking at him over Andrea's shoulder. It wouldn't do for her to know that he did indeed know how to dance, and was actually quite good at it; for now it was enough that she'd stopped feeling so self-conscious about wearing that dress – Chad thought he might well tip Annie even more than he had plAnnieed on doing, just for having that in her back room. The feel of her bare skin under his palm was growing more and more distracting; he had to step back from her several times as she inadvertently came too close. Her stomach pressed against his lower half as she moved made his body respond in ways that were unsuitable in public, and he hoped no one else noticed.

Their instructor started them on the first steps of a tango and Andrea pressed right back up against him again, making him harden instantly. Again. Jesus, this was embarrassing. He quickly put his hands on her hips and pushed her away slightly. "Sorry," he said when she glanced up at him with a look that meant she'd noticed each and every time. _Shit!_ "Sorry," he muttered again stupidly, his face feeling hot. Why did his body have to pick _now _to revert back to adolescence? A quick glance a the clock showed that the lesson was almost over, thank God, and he suffered through only five more minutes of torture before Annie Announced the end of their session.

Andrea had just drifted off for a drink of water when Annie came up to him, turning her back so that the detective wouldn't see her face as she talked to Chad. "Were you actually getting _wood_ for her? You're so disgusting," she laughed.

"Oh, shut up!" he snarled back, annoyed that she'd seen. "It's your own damn fault, Ann. Why'd you have to let her wear that dress?"

His sister batted her eyes innocently up at him. "Because you asked me to help her pick one out. So, is it serious?" She glanced over at Andrea who was coming back, and broke it off quickly. "Don't fuck it up this time, moron….and it was _such_ a pleasure to have an actual _sergeant_ with us tonight! You two have a lovely night," she said loudly, with a covert throat-slashing motion aimed at him. He shook his fist at her behind Andrea's back and she responded with that annoying "tsk, tsk" finger waggle of hers.

"So, are you ready to go?" he asked Andrea, still avoiding her eyes. It wasn't as if he had never gotten aroused by her before; their previous date had ended with her on his lap and involved in some pretty hot and heavy kissing, but this was different. It wasn't supposed to happen when he didn't mean for it to, he thought grumpily.

"I just need to change back into my clothes, and then…"

He grinned suddenly, an idea coming to him on how to reclaim control of the date. "Don't worry about it – I had to sign a contract that says I have to drop that dress off at the dry cleaners so just get your street clothes and we'll go now." Chad walked her back to the changing room so she couldn't get out of it – he seriously doubted that she would insist on stripping down in front of him, since it was apparent that she wasn't wearing a bra. _Oh, shit. Don't think about it, don't think about it, __don't__ think about it…damn it. I just thought about it._ He snatched up her clothes hurriedly, holding them in front of himself as he willed his erection to subside. _Fuck. Go __**away.**_

They made it to the car with her still looking askance at him, and despite himself he had to smile at her next outburst of shock when he drove them straight to a local sports bar instead of back to her house. "Chaaaad," she said warningly. "Give me my clothes."

He tossed them in the back before she could lunge for them. "Let's go have a beer."

"I'm _so_ going to get you for this," she sighed as she climbed out of the car.

tbc…


	8. Chapter 8

He had no doubt that she would make him pay for this at a later date; probably several later dates…but just now it was entirely too much fun watching Andrea try to ignore the stares she was getting as they walked into the bar. A wolf-whistle split the air and she forgot her poise as she whirled to glare at the group of men leering at her appreciatively from a nearby booth. Their smiles slid quickly off their faces as Chad favored them with a thoughtful look, so he guided his date to a corner table where he gallantly held out a chair for her.

Despite the fact that she was less than half his size, she managed to look down her nose at him as she deliberately sat in the other chair – Chad dropped into the chair he'd been holding out for her, shrugging mentally. If that's the way she wanted to play it… "So, what would you like to drink?" he asked her, still trying not to admire her too closely.

"Whatever's on tap is fine," she said coolly.

"Be right back." He left to order their beers and returned with them in hand, sliding hers across the table to her. "So, how did you like dance lessons?" he asked, temporarily forgetting that he didn't want to discuss it.

Andrea just looked at him with an appraising expression on her face. "Not as much as _you_ did, apparently."

Oh, God. What had made him ask that? He felt his face start to redden again. "I _said_ I was sorry," he muttered, hoping she would drop the subject. Andrea was still studying him across the table for some reason – probably to think up something else that would embarrass him – and he jumped in surprise when he felt her foot traveling up the inside of his left leg. "What do you think you're…" he broke off as her foot slid slowly into his lap. "Andrea," he said warningly.

A smile that could only be classified as mischievous curved her lips. "Yes, Sarge?" she said mockingly.

Chad reached down to remove her foot, and just as his fingers touched her ankle she started to rub against him. "Stop that," he said in a tone that even_ he_ could tell wasn't very convincing. What the hell was she doing, messing with him like this? Not that he wanted her to stop, but still. They were in public, after all, and if anyone were to see her this… his brain ground to a halt when she pressed her foot firmly into his crotch and began to knead with her toes. _Oh, sweet Jesus._ "Andrea," he tried to protest one more time. It wasn't his fault if it came out as weakly as it did.

Andrea clinked her glass against his. "Cheers," she said before drinking deeply. She gave him a sweet smile before lowering her voice and leaning towards him as much as her extended leg would allow. "What would you say if I told you that, during that ridiculous dance lesson, I rubbed up against you on purpose?" His eyes widened at this revelation, but she didn't give him time to respond and kept up her movement while he tried his best not to tilt his hips forward and give her easier access. _Fuck, that feels good_. Her next words, coupled with the pressure and movement she was exerting between his legs, nearly made him come right then and there. "Seems to me, a man your size would be so pumped up on steroids that your cock would be about the size of my little finger…but it's not, now is it? You seem like you're a big boy all over, Sergeant Shelten." She rubbed harder, faster, and her voice got lower and lower as she practically purred at him. "_Are _you, Sergeant? Are you a… big boy?"

He did his best to try forming words, but his brain wasn't cooperating and his mouth opened and closed soundlessly before he could actually speak. "I…I'm…"

"Yes?" she asked, abruptly pulling her foot from his lap and sitting up.

The absence of stimulation made coherency return, albeit slower than he would've liked. "I'm not really the person most qualified to answer that question," he finally answered after clearing his throat at least three times.

"And who _would_ be most qualified to answer that question?"

He had her now. "Whoever has the measuring tape." Chad picked up his beer, and took a mouthful of the amber liquid just as she leaned forward again. Oh, no. She was going to say something else that was probably outrageous.

He was right. "Good thing I always carry one on my key ring," she cooed, batting her eyes at him.

Chad promptly swallowed the wrong way and erupted into a spluttering cough fit. "Damnit, Andrea – stop that!" He managed to get his breath back and glared at her, but once again she simply smiled sunnily at him to defuse his irritation and put her foot right back in his lap. "_Andrea!_"

"What?"

"Stop."

"Really?"

"Yes."

She did that toe wiggle thing again. "Really?" she repeated.

"No…" his eyes glazed over, but he shook his head to clear it and reached down to push her foot away again with a sigh. "Yes. Stop."

Andrea pouted at him, licking her lips teasingly. "If you're sure." She pulled her foot back and slipped her shoe back on, standing up. "I'm going to find a bathroom – walk me there?"

"Get out of here," he snapped irritably, making her laugh. She leaned over to kiss him before sauntering past the bar on her way to the restrooms, and he slumped down in his chair in an excess of relief. Well, as relieved as he could get without actually being…relieved. The throbbing between his legs was nearly agonizing, and he wished he was in private so he could at least jack off before she came back to tease him some more. He figured she was expecting him to insist upon being invited in when he took her home and truthfully, if she made a case of it, he'd go along with it. A certain portion of his anatomy wouldn't mind a bit.

He wasn't sure it was the best idea, however. Oh, his hormones were all for it… but a small voice in the back of his mind told him to wait, to make sure it wouldn't be a mistake. _How could it be a mistake? It's not like she's Rita all over again._ _Rita would have never tried to get you off in the middle of a semi-crowded sports bar_, he told himself. Actually, his ex-wife wouldn't have done _a__ny_ of the things Andrea had already done… he hadn't encountered a woman that sexually aggressive since he'd lost his virginity to the neighbor's daughter. It made him wonder what other surprises Andrea had in store for him – God willing, he'd find out.

If he lived through it.

Andrea smirked at herself in the mirror as she combed her hair with her fingers quickly. She rather thought she'd succeeded in pulling Chad out of whatever depression he'd fallen into at the mention of Rita at the beginning of their date… If she were honest with herself, she was also proud at how far she'd pushed him beyond his comfort zone – he was clearly used to being in constant control due to his size and forceful nature. She smiled at her reflection once more before she turned to leave, intending upon resuming her torture of the poor man – he made it entirely too easy for her to tease him… Chad Shelten had a thing or two to learn about women who didn't answer to the name Rita.

His eyes were on whatever basketball game was on the nearest television as she came back and leaned down to kiss him, but he surprised her by simply pulling her down into his lap. "Are you ready to go?" he murmured, nuzzling her neck while several of the single men in the bar looked on enviously. She immediately tried to free herself, unwilling to be seen as a mere trophy; she'd fought long and hard (and was still fighting, really) to be accepted as an equal on the force – and that didn't happen by being seen on the lap of another officer, even if none of the men here worked for the LAPD. Chad's arms tightened as she tried to move, holding her in place. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked calmly. "If you thought I was simply going to let you get away with…things, I'm afraid you're mistaken." His fingers brushed lightly over the fabric covering her stomach, and she shivered. "You're not cold, are you?"

She shivered again as he placed his other hand on the exposed skin of her back and began to stroke slowly. "No, I'm…I'm fine." Andrea swallowed hard when Chad began to kiss her throat, and was just bringing her hands up to thread her fingers through his short hair when he pulled away and pushed her off his lap so he could stand up. "Wha…?" She was confused, and still disoriented enough to have to lean on the table to remain upright; her cheeks burned when she glanced over to see that more eyes had left the televisions and were watching them.

"I think I should take you home now," was all he said, reaching behind her to place his hand on the small of her back to guide her out. She very nearly bolted when his hand dipped lower to rest directly on her ass and Chad just made an amused sound in the back of his throat as he opened the door. "Shall we?"

"Fine," she tried to say without her voice shaking.

His second huff of amusement told her that she hadn't quite succeeded, and she tried to suppress a blush as he opened the car door for her and helped her in. The drive back to her place was accomplished in silence, Chad trying (but not _too_ hard) to suppress his smiles while she tried to suppress her urge to reach over and slap the smirk right from his face. He wasn't supposed to regain the upper hand after what she'd done to him, damn it! "So, Andrea; I was wondering…"

Oh, lord. Now he was going to try for an invite, she just knew it. "Yes?"

"Would you like to go for a run with me on Sunday? If you're not visiting your father, that is."

She blinked, surprised. "Oh."

"If you don't want to, that's okay." He glanced over at her as he stopped the car at a traffic light and grinned. "I promise not to grope you in public. Maybe we could get lunch after, too."

Andrea felt herself smiling back at him. "Okay, you can just call me when you're ready." She'd been wondering if he was interested beyond the 'dates' they'd been having, and this seemed to be a step forward…surely if he was only interested in sex he would have made his move by now. _Not like I can blame him for asking, since I was so bold earlier._ She had no idea what had made her do that; it was like a part of her simply had wanted to see what would happen if she provoked him enough.

He'd be well within his rights to demand sexual gratification, so she waited for him to ask…but as he pulled up in front of her house and got out of the car, he simply opened the door to the back seat and got her clothes. "You got these, or do you want me to carry them up for you?"

"You can walk me up, if you'd like," she said graciously, ignoring his grin at her sudden high-handed manner.

"Most certainly, my Lady – I live to serve," he cracked. When they reached the porch, he set the clothes down on a nearby chair. "Well, there you go; thanks for…well, I'm not sure what I should be thanking you for since you're plainly evil and were hatched in the deepest abyss of Hell."

She blinked in astonishment. "So, you…don't want me to invite you in?"

Chad leaned a shoulder against the door frame. "Not tonight, I think you deserve to stew in your own juices…okay, that sounded really dirty. But it _is_ generally thought of as polite for a woman to give a man a kiss goodnight after he takes her out on a date," he hinted.

"That depends upon the quality of the date, now doesn't it?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Hey! You were the one copping a feel every chance you got, so you came out ahead of me – I even got my ass grabbed by some sixty year old lady."

She laughed and dropped her keys to raise herself up on tiptoe, flinging her arms around his neck. "A sixty year old? Poor Sarge…was it awful?"

"It really was," he said, pretending to dash the tears from his eyes. Andrea threw her head back to laugh, and clutched convulsively at him when Chad lowered his head to bury his face in her neck. _I should invite him in anyway, I __reallllly__ should…_ His lips sought hers and gave her no more time to think as they were locked together in a kiss that made her legs turn to jelly. "I'd better go now," he muttered against her lips finally.

"So what's stopping you?" she muttered back.

"You won't let go."

"Oh. Sorry." She released him and he stepped back, smoothing a palm over his hair. "So, um. I had a good time tonight."

"Yeah…me too. Kind of." He winked to show that he was teasing, and turned to leave. "I'll call you tomorrow night, okay?"

It was like she was in some incredibly cheesy romantic comedy. "Okay." She watched as he walked back to his car and drove off, then went inside and straight to her bed where she screamed into her pillow. "Yup, a _really_ cheesy one," she sighed, just a little disgusted with herself for feeling so happy.

After locking the car, waving to the ever-nosy Mrs. Marino's curtains and going in his house, Chad slumped against the inside of the door. _Thank God that's over __with,_he thought as he threw his keys on a nearby table and dropped heavily onto the couch. He'd never have guessed Andrea would pull a stunt like that in the bar, and he still wasn't sure if he was so shocked that she'd actually done that in public or just that he'd enjoyed it so much. _Yeah, right – you're just pissed that she didn't get you off_.

He sighed and turned on the television to catch the rest of the game, dropping a hand down to rub himself through his pants absently. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine that he was still in the bar with her and she was touching him. Yeah, just like that… he rubbed slowly, hearing her voice in his head. _ "You seem like you're a big boy all over, Sergeant __Shelten__…"_

_Oh,_ yeah. Chad opened his trousers, reaching in to pull himself out. "Fuck…Andrea…mmm," he groaned softly, sliding his hand up and down his cock from tip to base.

Imaginary-Andrea breathed in his ear, teasing. _"__**Are**__ you, Sergeant? Are you a… big boy?"_

Chad ground his head back into the upholstery, stroking in earnest even as he pulled his shirt up and out of the way. "Oh, God…_Andrea," _he gasped seconds later, his hips surging up from the cushions as he came in hot spurts on his stomach. Falling back, he stared up at the ceiling and waited for his thundering pulse to slow before he made his way to the shower to get cleaned up. He slid under the sheets of his bed, feeling so exhausted that he didn't know what he'd do if they progressed to actually having sex – for the first time, he thought about cancelling his regular Saturday activities so he could see her again…Sunday couldn't come soon enough. _At least I know what to do before our next date_, he thought wearily, and fell asleep smiling.

tbc…


	9. Chapter 9

Andrea had just finished her morning shower and had her head stuck in the refrigerator to search for breakfast when her cell phone rang. She had to suppress an entirely irrational desire that it was Chad and frowned at the display since it was telling her that Rita, of all people, was calling. "What in the world…Rita? Hey," she greeted cautiously.

"Hey, Andrea – I hope I didn't wake you," Rita apologized.

"No, I was already awake…what's up?" She listened as Rita explained about not having heard from Hopper and confessed to worrying about him. "He's probably out searching for the perfect gift for his nephew, he said something about it yesterday."

Rita's exaggerated sigh of relief made her smile. "Well, that's probably it then – I think he forgot to charge his phone battery again." There was a pause which made Andrea wonder if she should end the conversation on her end, but Rita started talking again and asking exactly the sorts of questions she'd been afraid to hear. "So, Andrea; Brett tells me that you're seeing someone?"

_Can this get any more awkward?_ She cleared her throat, trying to decide what to say. "Well, yes. We've been out several times so far."

"Really? That's wonderful – we should all go on a double date sometime!" Rita enthused.

Andrea fought back the urge to laugh. _Apparently it __**can**__ get more awkward._ "It'll probably be a while, I think he's skittish about that sort of thing."

"So what's he like?"

_Oh, God. __I'll have to discuss this whole secrecy thing with Chad tomorrow…_ "Um. Well, he's very sarcastic and funny… a lot taller than I am…" She almost lost it when she heard Rita's approving murmurs. "Dark hair, blue eyes, athletic..." Because she couldn't help herself, she threw in a few more descriptives. "He's actually very good looking. Fantastic kisser, too." _This is __**so**__gonna__ come back to bite me in the ass when she finds out about us._

"Oooh, sounds like a keeper."

That was it. Andrea dropped the phone and ran into the other room to indulge in a gigglefit, returning to the kitchen to pick the phone up and make up a lie about leaving the stove burners on. "Nice talking to you, Rita… I'll send Hopper on over if I see him."

"Sure thing – you know, we should get together one of these days; have a girl's day out," Rita suggested. "Talk to you later!"

_Sure__. We can talk all about how I nearly made __your ex-husband have an __orgasm in public. _"Bye." She hung up the phone and resumed her hunt for food, finally pulling out two slices of day-old pepperoni pizza and a small tub of lemon yogurt. Chad would have a heart attack if he saw what she was eating, she thought to herself with a smile as she snagged a can of fruit punch to wash it all down with. "Breakfast of Champions."

A trip to the gym served to burn off most of her excess energy, and she thought about her new situation as she climbed onto the elliptical machine. How stupid was it that the slightest thought of Chad made her smile? She'd never been one to believe in the ridiculous notion that love made all problems disappear and from what she'd seen in other couples, she had always distrusted how they seemed to change when they were around each other. It seemed like such a lie to her, like one or the other tried to change to make themselves more suitable – what was the use in that? If you were together, you were together because you liked your partner as is…she'd tried to be what she thought one of her previous boyfriends wanted, once. She'd allowed him to guide her choices in music, clothes, food, art…and in the end when he had made her into a caricature of herself, he had decided that he didn't want someone so malleable.

Since then, she hadn't let herself be pushed around; not even when most of the men in her family tried to dissuade her from joining the police force, some of them even going so far to say that it wasn't a feminine occupation and she had no business there. Like she should spend her life at home baking cupcakes and waiting to be told what to do. Andrea snorted at the recollection. _Cupcakes, my ass._ Of course, her forcefulness and rigidity to change had cost her a fair amount of relationships…the last one had been a particularly draining experience. Men generally stayed away from her, finding her aggressiveness off-putting. But Chad… She smiled. It was as if that very quality only drew him closer, just as his confident arrogance drew her.

_But that's not all he is. The look on his face whenever anyone mentions Rita… and the hesitance he showed when I asked him out… I wonder what really happened to make him that way. _Maybe he would tell her about it later, and maybe he wouldn't…only time would tell. But after waking up with a smile on her face for the third week in a row, she knew that she wanted to be with him. It wasn't love she felt for him; not yet, anyway…but she intended to have as much fun as she could for however long this lasted. On a whim, she decided to drive past Chad's house to see if he was home – maybe she could find out what exactly he did on Saturdays, since he never seemed to want to tell her about it. Andrea narrowed her eyes thoughtfully as she saw him carrying something from his car into the house...from where she had pulled over down the block, she could see that it was riot gear. _Why on earth does an IA officer need riot gear?_ _Maybe I'll ask him about that, too…_

Chad dropped to one knee to tighten his shoelaces, and Meredith took the opportunity to lunge against his leash. "Damnit, Merry – _no_..!" He sighed as he looked up to see the S.S. Andrea pull up to the curb, and stood. "So _that's_ what you're excited about." The pitbull was wagging his tail so hard that his whole body shook, and Andrea laughed as she walked up.

"Meredith, how's my good boy?" she cooed. Meredith's tail wagged even harder at her, and the dog snuffled joyfully at her track pants when she scratched his head.

"Hey, what about me?" Chad joked, dropping the leash to put his hands on her waist and pull her close playfully. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on tiptoe to give him a sweet kiss, drawing back just enough so that their foreheads rested together. "I thought we could just run in the neighborhood, if that's okay – there's a park we can take Meredith to," he suggested.

Andrea pecked him on the lips once more. "Sounds good, let's go. Oh, hang on just a sec…" she aimed her remote at her car and activated the alarm, punching Chad in the arm when he clapped a hand to his face in continued disbelief. "Don't laugh, it's paid for!"

"Yes ma'am, no ma'am. No laughing." Meredith barked loudly in agreement, and they both laughed in spite of themselves. "Okay, let's go." He stole another quick kiss and waited for Andrea to finish stretching before they started to jog down the sidewalk, Meredith frisking along to one side. He stole glances at her while they ran, aware that she was doing the same – she looked beautiful, especially without the scant makeup she wore to their previous dates and at work. "You shouldn't wear makeup," he blurted before he could help himself.

She looked up at him, nearly stumbling over a curb as a result. "Ouch! Damn it…and why is that, exactly?"

They were nearly at the park, so he slowed to a walk. "Because you don't need any." Chad tied Meredith's leash around a nearby post and lowered himself to the grass while Andrea went to get some water. She came back to share it with himit with him, pouring some in a bowl she had borrowed for Meredith, and sloshed the last drops out at Chad. Andrea giggled as he lunged at her and they rolled on the grass together, playfully battling for the advantage – Chad rolled her underneath him, feeling pleased at how readily she reached up for him, and kissed her before gathering himself to move away.

"Is that all I get for bringing you water?" she teased him softly.

He rolled onto his side, resting a hand on her hip. "What kind of payment are we talking about, here?"

"I can probably start you off with an installment plan, but there's going to be a balloon payment somewhere in there," Andrea warned.

"Oooh. That sounds vaguely dirty and exciting; where do I sign up?" She winked and tapped her lips, pursing them in a clear command that he had no inclination to disobey. One of her small hands worked its way under the bottom of his shirt, stroking his skin lightly as they kissed. Thankfully his problem of the other night didn't reassert itself, though he would be lying if he said she wasn't affecting him. He was surprised at how i good /i it felt to simply lay there, kissing her and being kissed back with no expectations between them… it simply reinforced the thoughts he'd been having about her lately. Manly it might not be considered but Chad was finding that he missed being part of a couple, missed having someone to whisper things to late at night, missed waking up next to someone – he even missed getting into fights over ridiculous things like who had left a teaspoon of milk in the carton.

He was willing to bet that her refrigerator was full of nearly-empty milk cartons on a regular basis, and the thought made him suppress a laugh. Andrea smiled at him, rubbing the tip of her nose against his. "What's funny?"

Chad stroked a hand down her back, liking how she had comfortably molded herself against him. "Milk cartons." He kissed her forehead lightly. "Wanna go back?"

She shook her head and gave him another sweet, lingering kiss. "Not yet. I like being here with you." Andrea snuggled even closer and he rolled onto his back so he could put both arms around her while she sighed happily, resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes. "Even though you're sweaty."

He tweaked her ponytail. "Hey, you're sweaty too – I just didn't want to say anything to hurt your feelings…and it sounds like you need food, so we should head back to get something to eat," he suggested when her stomach growled loudly enough to startle Meredith, who'd been nosing around them curiously.

"Poor Merry, I scared him." She let Chad pull her to her feet and waited as he returned the borrowed water dish, then they jogged back to his house where she looked down at herself with a frown. "I can't go anywhere to eat when I'm all stinky…"

"That's why there's an extra towel in the bathroom with your name written all over it," he grinned. "You go ahead and take your shower first – I'll make up a list of nearby restaurants, then when I take my shower you can decide where you'd like to go."

Andrea tossed him her keys, and headed to the bathroom. "Do me a favor and get my clean clothes from the back seat?"

Closing the bathroom door and shucking off her clothes, Andrea tried not to laugh at the bright pink towel that was hanging right beside the plain white one that was obviously for his use. "My name written all over it? Yeah." After doing some reconnaissance and snooping through his things, she found nothing more incriminating than a pack of women's razors beneath the sink, so showered quickly and found her clothing neatly folded and placed beside the bathroom door. "Do you have that list ready?" she called as she dressed, and heard his muffled assent from somewhere in another room.

"It's on the table, and you're not allowed to pick Carl's Jr.," he said as he breezed past her into the bathroom. She heard him turn the shower on, and wandered into the kitchen to look at the list he'd made up. Maybe her continued association with him would break him of his anal retentiveness, she wondered as she saw that he'd listed each place in alphabetical order and had written the driving distance to each below the phone numbers. Andrea took advantage of his absence to snoop some more, frowning at the almost-empty milk carton in the fridge and rummaging through his CDs. Mostly hard rock, some blues, and…wait a minute, was that i Celine Dion? /i Her eyebrows went up further when she saw that it was a karaoke version of "My Heart Will Go On," and she snickered as she heard the bathroom door open.

"Hey, Chad…" she trailed off as he appeared, slightly damp with nothing but the pink towel wrapped around his waist. i Oh, my. That's a sight that will never get old, /i she thought appreciatively.

"You used my towel, Crackhead."

Andrea made a production of stroking her chin and looking at him. "Oh, I don't know – I think you look good in pink."

"Really?" He stood up straight to strike a pose, puffing up his chest. "They i do /i say that pink is supposed to be a slimming color."

She laughed at him. "Oh, quit messing around in that towel and get changed, will you? I'm hungry." Chad's eyes glinted with mischief as he looked at her, and she barely had time to register his intent before he tugged at the towel and it fell to the floor at his feet with his insincere "Oops." She couldn't do anything but stare as he turned to walk into his bedroom in search of clothes. i Oh my GOD /i .

"Ready?" he asked scant minutes later, reappearing fully clothed in jeans and a shirt to catch up his keys and wallet from the table. She nodded mutely, and he grinned in response. "Good, I'm starving." He teased her all throughout lunch with questions like "Do you see anything you like? On the menu, I mean", but she had recovered her equilibrium with the arrival of her food so tried her best to ignore him and concentrate on lunch.

"You i do /i realize that I'll be picturing you walking around headquarters completely naked, right?" she finally said just as he took a bite of his food. He i humph /i ed his amusement and she indulged in imagining him riding the elevators and terrorizing everyone in his path – and she'd be willing to bet that Chad wouldn't even bat an eye if he ever had to do such a thing.

They spent the rest of the day together, and even went to the beach when it was nearing sunset so that they could take a walk together. Her mind screamed i cliché, cliché, cliché! /i at her, but she firmly told it to shut up…she was long overdue for some romance, wasn't she? One thing was missing, though, and she took a deep breath to prepare herself for it as she walked by Chad's side. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"What? Why wouldn't I be?" She colored slightly at the realization that he had heard her trying to get her courage up. "I'm fine."

He blinked. "If you say so. I promise not to walk around naked in front of you again, if that's what's worrying you – I'd be scared to see me nude, too. Hell, I scream like a little girl whenever I pass in front of a mirror."

Andrea snorted a laugh. "No, that's not it. You have my express permission to wander around naked all you want. But really, I said I'm fine."

"Okay, then." They walked along for a while longer, and she steeled herself once again. This time, she'd do it… Andrea drew in another deep breath and reached tentatively out for him, her fingertips brushing the back of his hand before her courage failed her and she jerked away. Chad stopped immediately and looked down at her silently for a few seconds before he reached down and took her hand in his. "Sunset's nice," he said conversationally as he started walking again.

Her accelerating heartbeat started to slow gradually, and she found that she i liked /i the way his hand nearly swallowed hers up. It felt comfortable. And she felt…safe. "Yes, it…it is nice," she said softly, looking up at him as she moved her fingers so that they threaded with his.

Chad smiled down at her, pressing her hand before looking back across the ocean.

tbc…


	10. Chapter 10

It really _was_ nice to be in a relationship again, even if he wasn't exactly sure where the whole thing was headed. Chad didn't try to over-analyze it, knowing that would only lead to doubts and nothing good… it was enough for now that he felt like smiling whenever he thought of her and that it just felt… _right_ when he was around her. So far, no one else knew about the fledgling relationship, which was another thing to be worried about, so he tried his best not to. It wasn't anyone else's business, after all. Others would find out about them soon enough, and he'd deal with the fall-out when it happened.

Chad smiled to himself as he signed his name on a form authorizing an inquiry into the leisure time of a patrol officer, thinking of his recent encounters with Andrea. After their walk on the beach and the subsequent hand-holding (which had made him feel as excited as he'd been when he was fifteen and alone with a girl for the first time on a date), they'd begun seeing each other on nearly a daily basis. On the days when Hopper was off annoying someone else, they went to lunch together and most nights had dinner together as well.

They hadn't progressed past enthusiastic groping - whatever base _that_ was supposed to be these days – and hadn't spoken of it, but he was more than ready to move on and knew that she must be as well if the way she'd been responding to his kisses and caresses were anything to go by. He set down his pen and leaned back in his chair, still thinking of what they'd been doing two nights ago… it was as if Andrea had grown an extra set of hands. He hurriedly wiped the grin off his face when he realized that his door was open and Haskell was staring at him from inside the IA bullpen. The other man hurriedly averted his gaze, and Chad went back to his paperwork half-heartedly.

Andrea had insisted that tonight was her turn to take him out on a proper date, and he wondered what she had in store for him this time; she'd been looking awfully pleased with herself all day long and had teased him by whispering the suggestion that he wear something easily removable when they'd been in the elevator with one of the robbery and homicide detectives. His eyes went to the clock to see that it was finally past his shift, so he pulled open a desk drawer to stash the paperwork and came face-to-face with the portrait he kept inside it. "Hope you're happy now," he muttered under his breath, flipping it upside down. He wasn't entirely sure why he kept it there anymore – he'd get rid of it later. He nodded pleasantly to Haskell as he locked his office door and left, heading home to walk Meredith, clean up the house, and shower before Andrea came by later.

She showed up earlier than he'd expected, nearly making him cut himself shaving when she stuck her head in the bathroom to surprise him with her punctuality. "Oh – sorry," she said sheepishly as he glared in the mirror at her and shook his razor threateningly. She bit her lip and tugged on the spaghetti-strap of her top slightly, leaning against the wall to look at him.

"Next time, make some noise as you're coming through the front door," he scolded, finishing shaving and wiping his face while she perched on the sink next to him and watched interestedly. She giggled at his exaggerated wince as he put on aftershave, and pulled him closer by hooking a finger in the top of the towel that was wrapped around his hips. "You'd better be careful or we'll be late to whatever you have planned," he growled, sliding his hands up the sides of her thighs to part them so he could get closer to her.

Andrea ran her fingertips over his skin and slid them below the edge of the towel. "Maybe this is what I have planned," she purred at him, dipping her head to run her tongue along his collarbone. _Fuck,__ I should have jacked off in the shower_. His body was eagerly responding to her tone and caresses as he kissed her, but he didn't apologize for his reactions any longer – she slid her hand lower and rubbed him through the towel, delighting him with her boldness. She'd never done _that_ before; it had always just been a teasing brush of fingers or a knee pressed against him accidentally-on-purpose… Chad pressed against her palm as he slid his hands beneath her shirt to cup her breasts, stroking his thumbs over the fabric-covered nipples. "Mmmm, _Chad,_ " she moaned against his lips as he pinched lightly.

He brought a hand down to hold hers in place, bucking his hips slowly while he explored her body with his free hand. "Do you want to…?"

"Not now, we were supposed to go to dinner and then– _oooh,_ " Andrea sighed as another gentle pinch through the cloth of her bra made her arch her back. Chad kissed her a final time and stepped away from her, banishing her to the living room while he waited for his erection to subside – he was going to i have /i to come up with a way to persuade her to actually finish what she started - before dressing in a pair of well-worn, faded jeans and a long sleeved black shirt. She was playing with Meredith when he came into the other room, but she gave him an approving nod and stood to hold out her hand. "Let's take your car tonight…"

Andrea smiled at his surprise when he pulled into the parking lot she indicated. "Haven't you ever been to a Moroccan restaurant before?"

"Actually, I haven't…which you probably guessed," he said pointedly, though he didn't seem upset at the teasing. A muscle in his jaw twitched when she told him that they would be eating part of the meal with their hands. She laughed and leaned over the center console for a kiss, heat starting low in her belly as she thought of what they would be doing later…they'd waited long enough. "So, um, what's supposed to be good here?" he asked curiously once they went inside and were seated on long couches beside each other. Their waiter drew a glare from him immediately when the man winked at Andrea after she asked for a wine list.

"Don't be jealous, he's an old friend…Lhoucine, this is Chad. Chad, Lhoucine – I come here all the time, so they know me; that's why we've gotten such a private corner." Chad still looked slightly skeptical at this but didn't say anything so she ordered their food and moved closer to him, winking at their waiter and telling him not to rush. "So, what do you think of it so far?"

Chad nuzzled her, sliding an arm around her and pulling her against him. "So far, I think I like it. I like you more, though," he whispered in her ear, brushing his lips over her neck. "I'd also like it if you wanted to spend the night with me tonight."

She smiled and opened her mouth to speak when another thought hit her. "Chad."

"Hmm?" He kissed the corner of her mouth softly.

"What do you do on Saturdays? Two weekends past I saw you, and…"

He drew away, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "You followed me?"

Andrea frowned and sat up. Why was he being like this; was he really seeing someone else? She'd just been joking about it the first time they'd spoke of it, but… "No, I was on my way back from the gym and thought of you, so I decided to drive by and see if you were home – look, what's up with you? Why won't you tell me?" She was trying her best not to get upset, but thought she was most likely making a rather poor showing at it. "It's another woman, isn't it? Because I know you said it wasn't, but you've gotta help me out here."

Chad pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "I already told you once, that's not true. I just…don't really feel comfortable talking about it."

"Well, you'd better get comfortable with it or I'll just call a cab and leave," she threatened, feeling slightly alarmed at the intense feeling of jealousy welling up inside her. _What__ the hell am I doing? I'm acting like an idiot and ruining everything. This isn't like me!_

Andrea stood abruptly, intending to head into the bathroom to collect herself, but he misunderstood her reaction and reached to stop her. "Wait, don't leave! I…I'll tell you, just don't go," he pleaded, looking so miserable that she sank down onto the couch immediately and reached for his hands. Chad looked slightly embarrassed as he began to speak, and looked down at their interlocked fingers. "I, um, didn't say anything before because I didn't want anyone else to know about it – besides the ones who already do, I mean… I guess it's pretty stupid, keeping it secret." He looked up at her sheepishly. "I never thought that you might think I was actually seeing someone else. But the thing is, I've been…training."

"Training?" She blinked in surprise. "Is _that_ the reason you were carrying riot gear into your house? But I thought you'd finished with being a beat cop years ago…"

It was Chad's turn to blink. "What were you doing, having a stakeout down the block with your binoculars? Next time you should warn me; I'll give you something a lot more interesting to watch."

Andrea rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh. I believe you were telling a story…?"

He started fidgeting in his seat. "I _am_ finished being a beat cop – but the ones assigned to crowd control aren't the only ones who use riot gear. SWAT does, too."

"You're still not telling me why you – okay, wait. SWAT? As in… _SWAT? __You?!?!_"

Chad looked down again and pulled his hand from hers. "Just forget I said anything."

"No, I didn't mean it to come out quite like that… it's just a surprise. I would have never guessed that you'd want to go for SWAT," she said quickly, putting her hand on his thigh as soon as she saw how she'd hurt his feelings. "I tried out for the team once, but I wasn't really cut out for it and decided to just stick to where I was. What made you want to try out?"

He seemed to relax as she traced circles on his leg. "Ever since I was a boy, I wanted to be on a SWAT team," he confessed. "My mother didn't really think it was a good idea though; she always said that I should use my brain instead of relying on my strength. And then with Rita…" he cleared his throat. "She didn't think I should transfer, either. Too dangerous. So…what do i _you_ /i think about it?" he asked hesitantly.

The mere thought of big, strong Chad kicking in doors with his SWAT uniform on made her want to cancel dinner and drag him off to bed and keep him there for a month, but she couldn't really say that. Not yet, anyway. So she just went with answering his question as honestly as she could. "I think it's a shame that you let anyone guide you into one position when you really wanted to be in another… if this is what you really want, I think you should go for it and not let anyone else stop you." She wrinkled her nose at him. "SWAT works with Narcotics pretty closely."

He grinned, looking relieved that she hadn't been negative about his dream. "They do."

"So I could totally cop a feel in the middle of a drug bust."

"I wouldn't go _that_ far…you really don't think it's stupid?" he asked plaintively.

The food arrived just as she was opening her mouth to respond, so she waited until Lhoucine had set down the bastilla and lamb brochettes and left with another wink that made Chad frown. Then she slid onto his lap and kissed him with every ounce of the feelings she had for him. "I really don't," she murmured when she let him up for air. "Let's eat before it gets cold…" After the first few bites, which Chad had to admit were very good, they began to feed each other.

The feel of him sucking her fingers was so erotic, she thought she would faint right then and there and tried to give as good as she got, licking his fingers and sucking them in a sensual parody of oral sex that nearly made Chad pass out. "You're, um, you must like…the…the food," he said after swallowing hard.

She picked up a piece of lamb from her own plate and put on a show of eating it, sucking the sauce from her fingers suggestively and reveling in the desire she saw in his eyes as he watched her. "Just wait 'til you see what I can do with things other than food." By the time their server brought them fruit and mint tea, they were both more than ready to head back to Chad's house and get on with their evening – as soon as she set her empty glass back on the table, she was pulled back onto his lap for another nerve-tingling kiss. "Take me home."

If anyone asked later how they managed to get back to his house, she wouldn't be able to tell them – Mrs. Marino across the street would most likely tell them all about it. Andrea leaped into Chad's arms as soon as he slammed the door shut and locked it, and he carried her straight to the bedroom to toss her on the bed. "God, I want you," he groaned, ducking his head to kiss her. She tugged at his shirt impatiently and he quickly pulled it off over his head, falling back on the bed with her. Andrea ran her hands over his muscular chest and back, something she hadn't _quite _dared to do earlier but now resolved to do so as often as possible – good Lord, the man was built. He slid her top and jeans off as she felt at him, growling deep in his throat when her fingers traced the outline of his erection through the denim.

He popped the clasp of her bra and drew it from her arms to toss it on the floor carelessly as he stared down at her with an expression of awe on his face. "Is there something wrong?" she asked finally.

"Huh?" Chad looked up at her, slightly confused, before returning his appreciative gaze to her chest. "No, nothing's wrong…" He drew in a ragged breath and ran his fingertips down her throat to her left breast, circling the nipple before pinching it lightly and repeating his actions at her other breast until she was pulling at him impatiently. "You're so beautiful," he breathed as he began to kiss his way down her neck, one hand stroking down her legs to dip inside her thighs.

Andrea let her legs fall apart, feeling as if she'd had too much to drink even though she hadn't touched a drop. "Touch me," she begged, trying to unbutton his jeans. Her hands fell to her sides limply as Chad began to stroke her through the flimsy fabric of her panties, and she arched up into his touch feverishly. "Clothes…you… off," she panted. Their dinner had been nearly all the foreplay she'd needed, and she was more than ready for him.

He deliberately misunderstood her command and grinned as he hooked the sides of her panties with his fingers and drew them down her legs, kissing back up until he lay at the junction of her thighs after he teased them apart. "Let me," Chad whispered as she instinctively tried to clamp her legs together, unused to this sort of contact – her previous boyfriends had hardly ever gone down on her, and even then it wasn't exactly what she would call a good time.

Still, maybe Chad would better at it… she nodded at him nervously, and almost came up off the bed at the first lick.

Yes, he was definitely better at it.

tbc… ;)


	11. Chapter 11

Chad shifted into a more comfortable position on the bed, hooking his arms underneath her legs to help hold her in place before lowering his mouth to her center once more. Andrea wriggled and sighed as he moved his lips against her, licking gently to prepare her for more direct stimulation as well as to gauge her reactions – he hadn't had a chance to do this for a woman for a long time, since Rita's hand-ups (and she had a lot of them) had prevented him from it when they had still been together. Judging from the way Andrea was moaning his name, he was doing just fine. _Fuck, he__r pussy tastes good_, he thought as he began to lick and suck on her folds – he didn't even realize he had said it aloud until her small gasp of surprise registered in his mind and he looked up to see her staring down at him, wide-eyed. "I'm sorry," he apologized quickly, not knowing if that kind of talk was off-limits or not. You never knew, with some women.

She blushed slightly. "No, it's…it's okay. I just didn't think that men actually, you know, _liked_ to…"

Good God -what kind of past experiences did she _have_? "You're joking, right?" He ducked his head and went back to work.

"Well, I – _ohhhhhhh__ my God…!_" Andrea's hands clamped down on a tuft of his hair in a grip that made him wince before she let up slightly. He promptly sent her into another wail of pleasure, loving how responsive she was; he began to run his tongue over her clitoris as he slid a finger inside her, and damned if she didn't get even louder. "Ohhhh, Chad – I think I…_ah!_ I think…don't…no, wait! _Stop_," she suddenly cried, tugging on his ears.

Chad looked up, puzzled. "What's wrong?" He added another finger and rubbed the pad of his thumb against her slowly. Had he pressed too hard or something?

Andrea bit her lip, looking embarrassed. "I feel like I'm going to – _you_ _know_."

"What, climax? Isn't that a good thing?" He started to lower his mouth to her again and she stopped him.

"No, I feel like I'm going to – oh, just stop, okay?"

He sighed. "You feel like you're going to _what?_"

Her face turned bright red. "Pee."

Chad couldn't help laughing, burying his face against the inside of her right thigh as he snorted. "No, you won't," he said after he wrestled his amusement under control. Being laughed at would cool her down so fast, he'd have to start all over again if he didn't do this correctly. "Look, Andy – just relax. Nothing's going to happen that you don't want to happen, okay?"

"How can you be sure?" she asked suspiciously, and he hastily swallowed another laugh.

Crooking the fingers that were still inside her, he pressed up gently and she flailed at him, squawking in protest. "Is _that_what you felt when…?" At her mortified nod, Chad kissed her thigh. "Do you trust me?" She nodded again, still looking slightly embarrassed. "Then relax – nothing's going to happen." _Except for what I have planned for you,_ he thought smugly as he ducked back between her legs and slowly built her up to her previous discomfort level. When she started making little cries of distress he pressed his fingers up and rubbed firmly as he sucked her clit; her body went rigid a second before Andrea came apart completely, screaming and arching her back as he kept working on her.

When she fell back on the bed, shuddering in violent spasms, Chad extricated himself from the chokehold her thighs had placed upon his neck and kissed his way back up her body to nuzzle her neck. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?"

She rolled her head over to him helplessly, her beautiful brown eyes still unfocused. "That was…_wow_," she sighed.

_Yeah, I'm that good – she can't even talk properly._ He congratulated himself further when Andrea gave him an adoring, silly smile that meant she'd be out of it for a while. The ache between his legs was nearly unbearable, but he supposed he could wait until she calmed down a little – it certainly wasn't doing his ego any harm to have her stare up into his eyes like that.

Andrea slowly returned to full consciousness, finding herself wrapped up in Chad's arms as he ran his hands over her slowly and looked down at her with such a tender expression that she thought she must have fallen asleep and was dreaming. Except even in her wildest dreams she'd never have believed Chad Shelten was capable of doing what he'd just done. _Well, it's official. I can now die happy…_ he murmured something to her and she realized that he still had clothes on. She pushed shaking hands between their bodies and began to work on the fastenings of his jeans, letting him slide them off his hips and down. _I stand corrected – __**now**__ I can die happy. Oh, my god._ He rolled her onto her side, facing her as he leaned in for a slow kiss that quickly grew heated as she ran her free hand down his body to explore. "So, what's the verdict?" he teased breathlessly when her fingertips trailed slowly across his cut lines.

Andrea curled her fingers loosely around his thick shaft, squeezing lightly to see if she could close her hand around him. "Not bad," she teased back, tugging and drawing a moan from him. Whoever said size didn't matter either had a small penis or didn't have one at all, as far as she was concerned. She rolled onto her back, pulling him with her and he slid a knee between her legs.

"Ready?"

"Mmm-_hmm_." Andrea gripped his biceps as he pushed into her slowly, gasping at the feel of him stretching her. Chad swore softly as he seated himself fully inside, his large frame trembling as he held himself above her – Andrea thought she'd never seen a more erotic sight than watching him struggle to control himself. Knowing that _she_ was the one who made him fight to keep still. He grunted as she flexed her Kegel muscles, encouraging him to move. A large hand slid down to cup her ass, holding her up so that when he began thrusting slowly, his pelvic bone ground against her at just the right angle. "Faster," she panted up at him.

He groaned her name as he obeyed, planting both hands to either side of her head and thrusting faster while she grabbed at his back and shoulders to steady herself. _I swear__ I'll never use my vibrator ever, ever again_. She threw her head back, grinding it into the pillows as she savored the intense pleasure he was giving as he pounded into her, his unsteady grunts and filthy whispers driving her steadily over the edge. Andrea screamed his name, raking her nails down his back as she came – he redoubled his efforts and soon reached his own climax with a deeply satisfied groan, collapsing atop her to bury his face in her neck.

Andrea wrapped her arms around his neck, combing his sweat-dampened hair with her fingers tenderly; Chad sighed and shifted his weight to his elbows and knees but stayed where he was, still breathing hard. She pushed at his shoulders suddenly, a feeling of horror sweeping through her at the realization that… "We didn't use protection!"

Chad's eyes flew open. "What?" _Oh, God – no, we didn't._ "Shit." He rolled off her, unable to believe he'd been so stupid. How could he have forgotten such an important thing? Sitting up, he rubbed his forehead worriedly. "I'm sorry, I didn't think…" _Well, that's a sure-fire way to kill the afterglow._

"A lot of that's been going around these days," Andrea sighed. She relieved him of a small part of his anxiety by mentioning that while she _had _been on birth control, she was waiting to make an appointment with her doctor to switch types – there should, theoretically, be enough of it left in her system to prevent pregnancy. It would be just his luck if he _had _gotten her pregnant their very first time together. "I think I'd probably better call for an appointment on Monday." She cut him off when he was about to apologize again. "This just means we'll have to use condoms until we know for sure – but I'm fairly certain it'll be fine." She beckoned to him and he pulled her into his arms, still worrying as he stroked her hair. After a few moments, Andrea peered up at him. "You've got stuff here, right?"

Chad frowned – when Rita had still been with him he'd kept condoms in the bedside table, but he'd thrown them out after they'd expired and hadn't figured he'd need any more. "Not anymore," he confessed, then felt like an idiot for bringing up Rita. _Way to go, __Shelten__Dumbass._ He cleared his throat. "Do you want me to go…?"

Andrea lifted her head for a kiss. "We can go together…but not just yet."

"But shouldn't we-"

"_Chad._ You're not going to get me pregnant just by kissing me," she scolded. She then proceeded to give him cause to lament their current lack of contraceptives by sliding a thigh between his legs, running her hands over his chest. "You should be naked more often," she said approvingly.

"I'll be sure to come to work wearing nothing but my shoes and a tie just for you, then." He pulled her closer and she curled against him instantly, caressing his back and sides with her hands as they kissed slowly. At length he drew away from her slightly to see her, eyes closed and lips parted slightly as she waited to be kissed again. "Ready to go? I thought we could take a shower together first," he suggested softly. "Plus, you smell really bad." Her eyes flew open instantly and she glowered at him, reaching for a pillow to fling at his head. Chad ducked and grabbed her wriggling form, hauling her into the bathroom over his shoulder while she giggled and slapped at him – their shower was shorter and more PG-rated than he would have liked, but it was a necessary evil if they wanted to avoid becoming parents. Andrea put on a show of drying herself with a towel and dressing while he stared at her admiringly, and then she abruptly started laughing. He sighed when he looked down at himself, reaching for his jeans. "Behave yourself," he informed his erection sternly. "You'll just have to wait."

He doubted that the staff of the drugstore had ever seen anything like it; Andrea sent him to look for some kind of special shampoo while she went to look for condoms, and she kept bellowing questions and comments about the contraceptive section at the top of her lungs. "Hey, Chad! They've got warming lubricant! Wanna try some?"

Chad picked up a bottle of shampoo, uncapped it and sniffed experimentally. "Do we need it?"

"You can never tell when the well's going to run dry," she yelled back. "Oooh! This says it doubles as massage oil – you're giving me a massage since you tried to get me pregnant."

"Okay…uh, Andy? Is 'Mango Tango' close enough?"

"_N__ooo__o_, get the raspberry one! Hey, should we get the vibrating pleasure ring?"

"We couldn't use it in the shower," he called back. "Might electrocute somebody. But if you want it, go ahead." He nodded pleasantly to a shocked looking elderly woman as she went by with an "I never!" and continued his search for the elusive raspberry-scented shampoo.

Andrea's next yell made the old lady almost pass out. "How big are you? I don't know if these will fit."

He finally located the "Rollicking Raspberry" and wandered over to the end of the aisle – just beyond her, the pharmacy girl was looking positively scandalized. "Just get whatever's bigger."

She frowned at the display, then picked up a package. "Here, these are Magnums – but do you need regular or XL?"

Chad measured a distance between his hands. "How big is this?"

"Oh, you just wish it was that large!" Andrea hooted, picking up both packages. "We'll just take them both to be on the safe side." She scooted underneath his arm and they grinned at each other when they ended up in line behind the old woman. "I can't wait to try out that vibrating ring – you can try it on as soon as we get back in the car." The woman hustled off and Chad paid the cashier, wrapping his arms possessively around Andrea as he guided her from the store.

When they finally stopped laughing as they pulled up outside his house, Chad lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "You're something; you know that?" he asked affectionately.

She grinned back, stroking the back of her hand against his cheek. "I've heard it said before." He allowed her to pull him through the house back to the bedroom, where she pointed to the bed and ordered him to "lose the clothing, Sergeant." Once he was fully nude, she pounced on him and they wrestled together playfully – he made to reach for the bag they'd brought in, but she shook her head after she tossed her clothing aside. "Not gonna need those yet."

_But…that could only mean that she…_ Chad swallowed hard when she began to kiss her way down his body, her small hands caressing him gently. Rita had never been fond of giving head and never made a secret of it, so he'd felt bad to even ask – it had been a long, long while since a woman did this for him. "You don't have to," he said quickly, not wanting to make her feel pressured while he hoped against hope she wouldn't stop.

Andrea kissed her way along his hip and gave him a look that would've made him instantly hard if he hadn't already been aching for her since they'd left the drugstore with the condoms. "You're joking, right?" she teased, using his earlier words against him. She placed small licks around the base of his shaft before dragging her tongue up to suck lightly on his glans.

Chad bit his lip and tried not to thrust up into her mouth, to let her find her own pace. "I…_ahhh_ that's good," he groaned.

"Glad you approve," she purred up at him; a woman had no right to look that sexy, he decided as she flicked her tongue over him again with a downright wicked smile. He bit back a yell when she surprised him by taking him into her mouth suddenly, moaning to provide him with extra stimulation as she sucked his cock. "Guess I'm not the only one around here that tastes good," she murmured when she came up for air.

tbc…


	12. Chapter 12

Andrea opened her eyes slowly, disoriented by her unfamiliar surroundings as well as the feel of bare skin touching hers. She smiled as she remembered exactly where she was and who she was with; rolling onto her side, Andrea winced as the movement reminded her muscles that they'd had quite the workout. Chad had been extremely careful with her, but she doubted she'd be able to sit comfortably for a while – her sergeant would definitely take some getting used to. She stretched cautiously, smiling to herself; she'd enjoy every minute of it. Chad was still sound asleep, laying on his stomach with his face turned towards her and she smiled again as she looked at him. After limping from the bed to the bathroom and back again, she moved close to his warmth and fell asleep once more.

She woke the second time to find that Chad was curled around her with a heavy arm pinning her to the mattress, his nose buried in her hair. "Chad?" she whispered.

"Hmmm," he murmured, tightening his hold and snuggling closer.

Andrea turned her head to kiss his bicep, which was the only part of him she could reach. "I'm too sore for that," she protested weakly, referring to the erection that was firmly pressed against her. Even as she warned him off, she felt her thighs growing damp and heat gathering between her legs.

"Did I hurt you? I'm sorry," Chad said, concerned. "I tried to be careful…"

She reached back to touch his thigh in reassurance. "You were, sweetheart," she said, the endearment slipping from her mouth before she even thought about it- Chad didn't seem to mind, judging from the way his arms tightened around her. "I'm just not used to someone as…"

"...gifted?" Chad suggested smugly.

"I was going to go for the word 'pompous'," she teased, then squealed as he rolled on top of her and reached to snatch her pillow out from under her head. "Hey! That's mine!"

"Actually since this is my bed, it's _my_ pillow, used to crush the rebellion of naked, uppity narcotics detectives," he threatened.

She giggled and pushed at his chest, wincing as he flourished the pillow at her. "Okay, fine – you're gifted and humongous. My ovaries can hardly stand your magnificence."

The pillow was replaced immediately. "Stop it, I'm blushing!" Chad rolled off her and tucked her back against him in a way that had her heating up again but when she hesitantly reminded him of her inability to handle him again so soon, he kissed her neck. "I won't hurt you." His hand slid down her stomach slowly, giving her ample time to protest but she allowed it and spread her legs slightly in invitation while he breathed praise in her ear. "You're amazing, Andrea – in bed and out of it." He told her how beautiful and strong she was as his fingertips grazed her nether lips lightly, then slid between them to slide over the moist, sensitive flesh he found there. She whimpered and pressed back against him, feeling his cock nestle between her buttocks while he continued to move his hand; Chad slowly worked her to orgasm, carefully keeping from pressing too hard and massaging her clit with just the right amount of pressure. Andrea cried his name softly as she came, trembling violently – he smoothed his hands down her body and kissed her again, cupping her pubis in the palm of one large hand and squeezing gently to draw a delicious shudder from her.

Andrea sighed happily, keeping her eyes closed as Chad brushed his lips over the back of her neck lightly. "You really _are_ gifted, Sarge."

"I aim to please."

"You've certainly succeeded so far - but don't you need…?" she pushed her behind against him to find that he was still hard.

He kissed her again. "It's okay; you're more important. I can wait…or not…." She giggled again as he pounced on her.

A thought came to her later and she rolled her head to look at the clock, trying to dislodge him. "What about SWAT training? You're going to be late if you stick around much longer."

Chad released her with a sigh. "I'd forgotten about that. Maybe I should just-"

"No, you're not giving up on that just because of me; you go ahead, and we'll meet up later – what time do you think you'll be done?"

He dragged himself reluctantly from the bed and ran a hand through his disheveled hair, totally unselfconscious of his nudity as she admired him. "It's always about three hours, but then I usually go to the range and practice for another two… I don't think I can make it for five hours!"

"Poor baby…"

"No, really! I'll probably develop a severe case of SRS and have to be taken to the hospital before you know it," Chad said seriously. At her inquiring look, he explained. "SRS. You know, Sperm Retention Syndrome." He ducked a thrown pillow and rummaged through his closet, emerging with a handful of clothes. "I've got some stuff, if you need something to wear – it's not Rita's or anything," he said hastily at her frown. "It's just too small."

She picked up the gigantic tee shirt and slipped it on, glancing back up at him as he pulled on exercise clothes. "Too small for you and too large for Bigfoot? I think I might accidentally trip on the hem if I'm not careful," Andrea teased. They ate breakfast together and she was given a stern injunction to return precisely six hours later if she ever wanted to sleep with him again. "What, I don't even get a fifteen-minute grace period? Get out of here," she said affectionately, giving him a shove towards the door.

Ramiro looked at him oddly all throughout practice for some reason, and finally came over to ask if everything was all right. Chad was puzzled. "Why wouldn't it be?"

The lieutenant scratched his head and looked at him. "You seem different lately, that's all."

He looked down to hide a smile. _I'll bet…but if he's noticed, who else has?_ "I've never been better, Steve."

The other man clapped him on the shoulder. "Good to hear it; so when will you be ready to head on over to replace Don? Oh, before I forget: we're all getting together tonight for dinner – think you can make it?"

Chad winced, thinking of Andrea. He didn't want to cancel the appointment he'd already made with her, not if he thought he had any chance at coercing her into spending the night with him again. On the other hand, he wanted to spend more time with the unit he was about to join; once the others had gotten over the thrill of getting to take a free shot at the head of Internal Affairs, they'd started to become friends. "I've already got plans," he said hesitantly.

"Team'd love to have you, but if you're too busy then you're too busy."

He came to a decision suddenly, feeling that Andrea would understand. "No, let me just give her a call…"

"Oho, and I think I've just realized why you've been acting differently," the SWAT leader chuckled. "Just bring her along with you."

Chad sighed and reached for his phone when Ramiro announced to both teams that their newest member would be bringing a date – he hadn't meant to let it slip, since he and Andrea hadn't talked about making their relationship public – and the rest of them started to hoot and holler at him. "Yeah, laugh it up - I've got all your files..." Andrea answered her phone on the third ring and he sidled away from over-eager ears as he explained the situation to her. "You don't have to come if you don't want to, but I'd really like it if you did," he ended awkwardly. A chorus of juvenile "Oooooooh"s made him whirl around to the assorted team, who cracked up immediately upon seeing his glare.

"Is that the entire SWAT team listening to our conversation?" she asked indignantly.

"Er. It's only 75 of them – the other 25 left already."

"Oh. Well, where's dinner and what time do we have to be there?"

He was startled, and didn't even try to hide it. "You want to come with me? Really?" Another glare quelled the incipient hilarity caused by his overheard question, and he moved farther away from them irritably.

Andrea laughed and the sound made him smile; he wished he were there with her now. "It was only a matter of time before everyone on the force found out about us – might as well make our debut before anyone can accuse us of trying to hide…unless you don't want anyone to know? We haven't really talked about it yet…"

"No, no, I don't mind," he hastily reassured her. "We should've talked about it before now. Maybe later tonight after dinner, if you haven't been chased off by then."

He could hear her smile into the phone. "It takes a lot to scare me, Sergeant. Come pick me up on your way back to get cleaned up so we can get ready together." She whispered a goodbye as she hung up and Chad wiped the smile off his face as soon as he turned back to Ramiro and got the address of the restaurant they were meeting up at. Andrea was ready and waiting as he pulled up outside her house, giving him a lingering kiss as soon as she climbed inside the car. "Miss me?"

"Only a little bit."

"Well, I never…!"

"Careful, you sound just like that old woman we met while we were terrorizing Rite Aid," he snorted. Mrs. Ramiro gawked at them from where she was weeding her flower beds as he led her up the steps and inside the house, chasing her into the shower by stating that the last one in had to cook breakfast the next morning. Chad lamented that they had to actually go out in public and restrain themselves as soon as he saw her start soaping herself, purposely enticing him. "Okay, now that? Un_fair_," he complained as he slid the shower door closed.

He quickly revised his assessment of the situation when she began to run a washcloth over his body sensually, spending more time than was strictly necessary when she had to wash between his legs. _N__ot like __I'm __about to complain about it or anything._ "There's a lot of you to wash," she commented suddenly as she made him lift his feet in turn. "I can't imagine how it would be to give you a massage; I'd have to train at the gym for weeks beforehand! Oh, speaking of massages – you owe me one, mister."

Chad opened his mouth to reply when, after bidding him rinse off, she dropped back to her knees and began to kiss her way up the inside of his thighs. "But, you did that last night…" Had he said something to make her think that she_ had_ to do this for him? He groaned and leaned back against the tiles as she wrapped her lips around his cock and began to suck gently, then harder as she bobbed back and forth on him. He couldn't help feeling guilty about enjoying it so much and tried to hold back from pushing into her mouth even though the impulse to do so was nearly overwhelming. "So…so good, that's….mmmm," he moaned, threading his fingers into her hair. Losing his fight, he held her head in place and gave into his urge to move his hips, thrusting deeper into her mouth as she grabbed his hips and moaned around him.

She started to struggle and he released her immediately, but his half-formed apology died on his lips when Andrea simply breathed in a few times and went right back to going down on him, moving his hands to the back of her head and pressing down in tacit permission for him to continue. Chad stared down at her in amazement as she continued sucking, a small hand lifting between his legs to fondle his balls while she made sounds of obvious enjoyment. Then she did something with her tongue that eroded the rest of his control and he grasped her hair in his hands, pushing her down on him as forcefully as he dared. When he felt he could hold back no longer, he pushed her off him and she quickly wrapped a hand around his cock, sliding her hand up and down over him quickly and squeezing. "Mmmmm, that's it – come for me, Sergeant," she encouraged. _Oh, fuck_. He bucked in her grasp and came hard over her chest as she raised herself up slightly, the grip of her hand draining him. He watched dazedly as she ran a finger through the fluid that slid between her breasts and brought it up to her mouth to suck clean. "It's not that bad after it cools off," she said thoughtfully.

"Jesus, Andy," was all he could say as she finally released him and stood to reach for the soap again.

She just gave him a wink and tossed the washcloth at him. "Let's get cleaned up, dirty boy – we've got a dinner to go to."

"I can always cancel-"

"No, you _can't_ always cancel. Now help me wash off so we can go." Chad just shook his head and obeyed; he should know better than to argue with her by now. Besides, it wasn't wise to get on the bad side of anyone who could give head like that – he'd never had better, and he told her so as he pulled her into his arms after they dried off. "Oh, my god…_that_ was the best you've had?" she winked. "I was only getting warmed up."

He blinked at her, completely nonplussed, as she sauntered back into the bedroom to change.

tbc…


	13. Chapter 13

Chad drove to the restaurant, trying to make the drive last as long as he could so he could keep glancing over at Andrea. "Are you really going to wear that?" he asked her for what was probably the tenth time since they'd gotten in the car.

She raised her eyebrows at him. "No, Chad. I'm going to wait until you park the car, then I'm planning on taking off all my clothes and walk in with you stark naked."

That thought was extremely appealing. "But you'd keep the heels on, right?"

"_Chad!_"

"Sorry, I'll stop asking. You just look…"

Andrea made an angry sound in the back of her throat. "What, like a whore? Is that what you're trying to say?"

His eyes widened. "What? No!" _Damnit__, I thought I was past the 'saying stupid things' part of this._ He quickly stammered out an explanation as best he could. "No, I've just never seen you like this. You normally just wear casual stuff – which is good, casual is good," he said hastily. "It's just, you look slightly different – though still good – and… it's really sexy. Not like you aren't sexy _all _the time…" Another glance over at her showed that she had some expression on her face, but he had no idea what it meant. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, you're pretty much evil for wearing that around me for the first time and I have to wait until dinner's over to touch you," he finished. "So, yeah. Evil. That's you."

Chad was greatly relieved when she started laughing at him as he parked the car. "So, you think you're up to saving my wicked soul?" She teased.

"Hey, they don't call it the 'missionary position' for nothing…" he held the door open for her, nodding when she told him she'd meet him at the table as she headed toward the ladies' room. "Yeah, sure." He found the rest of the SWAT team holding court in a corner of the restaurant, holding up a hand in greeting as they noticed him.

"Look who's here, but look who's not," several of the wiseasses chorused as he sat down. He endured more good-natured jibes about his lack of a date, smiling to himself at the thought of their faces when Andrea came to join him – she'd waited until tonight to wear a short skirt and heels that had just about knocked him dead when he saw her get dressed. Ramiro leaned across the table to discuss something with him when the entire table went silent suddenly. "Isn't that…" "Hey, man, she's comin' over!"

He stood as Andrea came over, her hips swaying slightly; Ramiro just looked curious. "Detective Battle? What brings you…" He trailed off as she slipped her arm through Chad's, smiling around the table.

"Hey, guys."

Chad couldn't repress a smirk at all the surprised faces and guided her to sit beside him, stroking a thumb over her wrist when he felt how her pulse was racing. He knew how hard it was for her when she felt out of her element, so resolved to help put her back in it. "Andrea, you remember Emile over there? He was the one who fell flat on his face during that drug bust First Team was in on last week…" Chad felt her relax slowly as the tone around the table began to change subtly from surprise to acceptance, and her hand stole into his beneath the table while she looked at the menu.

God, she was sexy. He wanted to haul her straight back to his place and… he jerked back to reality as the waitress asked for his order and he sighed, ignoring the knowing smiles aimed at him from every conceivable direction. _It'__s going to be a long night._

Andrea had purposely selected one of the sexiest outfits she owned for this outing; it made her slightly uncomfortable at the thought of others seeing her in a get-up that was essentially chosen for Chad's enjoyment, but she'd come to enjoy the way his eyes would run over her appreciatively whenever she dressed up for him. He'd seen her at her worst several times by now, after all… it was actually nice to dress up for someone who truly appreciated the effort she took. Admittedly, this was the first time she'd put on heels and a skirt this short for him but from the steamy looks he kept giving her, she might make it a regular occurrence.

The team practically fell all over themselves trying to make her feel at ease, and she had actually found herself confessing to some of them that this was their first official outing as an couple. After that, she had no problem feeling welcomed and she was glad that he would be joining such a tightly-knit group. She leaned against him like she'd wanted to ever since they'd ordered their food, feeling secure enough in their present company to do so. Chad automatically put his arm around her shoulders, rubbing a hand up and down her arm slowly – he probably didn't even realize he was doing it. "I've got a replacement; he'll be ready to take over by the end of next week," he was telling Ramiro.

Andrea glanced over at him thoughtfully. He could be so arrogant… but she knew how sweet he was even though he'd made a reputation for himself by being a bastard. After whatever had happened with Rita, he'd built up walls so high it was amazing he could even see out – but each time he smiled at her, she could see the walls crack. Just by being here with her tonight, having his arm around her just like this… he opened up to her that much more.

She figured it was time she stopped pretending that she was unsure of what she felt for him, because looking at the way his face was animated as he discussed some sort of tactical maneuver with the man next to him, it was useless to pretend she wasn't falling for him. Chad glanced down to smile at her, and she leaned forward. "Take me home," she whispered in his ear.

He made their excuses and drove her to his place, the two of them so tightly wound that they didn't even speak the entire ride back. They made it as far as the front door before a teasing brush of her ass against him caused Chad to pounce immediately.

Much later, she rolled her head over to look at him. "Not bad, Shelten…not bad."

Chad sighed in contentment and smiled, his eyes still closed. "I've got skills they don't teach you down in Narcotics."

"What, is it some top secret IA thing? Black Belt Kama Sutra?"

He opened one eye. "This is one of those 'if I told you, I'd have to hump you until you're dehydrated' type of deals."

"Ah." She nodded sagely. "One of _those_. I thought for a second you were going to tell me that you'd have to kill me."

Chad sat up, glaring at her in mock-outrage. "What, and deprive myself of future liaisons on the Welcome mat?" He winced suddenly and stretched. "Actually, I wouldn't mind if we moved this somewhere softer…"

"Mmm, good idea; you've gotta be rested for that massage you're supposed to be giving me." She scrambled up and into his bedroom where she flopped down on the bed expectantly.

Andrea was already in his bed when he caught up to her after making sure the drapes were closed and the doors were locked. She'd turned on the bedside lamp and placed the bag from the drugstore right beneath it so he couldn't miss it; Chad smiled and climbed in beside her, patting her ass when she wiggled it at him playfully.

He pulled the bag over and stuck a hand inside, rummaging around until he found the massage oil and another condom. She looked over her shoulder at him expectantly, puffing a strand of blonde hair from her eyes before pouting when he set the bottle aside. Chad knew that the smart thing to do would be to avoid the issue and simply make love to her while she was still willing and eager for his touch, but… he needed to get this out of the way. God only knew he'd put it off long enough. "I have to ask you something."

She rolled onto her side and let the sheet slip from her breasts as she tossed her hair from her face, giving him a sultry smile. "What's on your mind, Sarge?"

Chad reached out to tug the sheet back up; if there was one thing he didn't need, it was a distraction like that. He shifted uncomfortably, well aware that his next words might cause her to storm out. "It's about work," he hedged. Maybe she'd just come out with it on her own.

"If it's about SWAT, I won't tell anyone you're joining," she promised.

He cleared his throat. "Andy… what's going on with your CI?"

Just as he feared, her eyes grew cold. "What do you mean?"

Andrea pulled the sheet tighter around her body, and he started to wish that he'd simply ignored the voice in his head that had made him ask. But he had to know what she'd be faced with after his successor inherited her case files and any chance she had was gone. "Your files, they came up for review a few months ago and…"

"You're reviewing my _files?_" She sat up straight, clutching the blankets to her as if he'd threatened to physically attack her or something. "What the hell is this, you're trying to get me to spill some secret in bed so I incriminate myself? That's sick," she spat angrily. "I thought you were different, but I guess a bastard really _can't_ change his stripes – I'm out of here."

He felt like someone had just punched him in the gut. "Andy, wait-"

She knocked his reaching hand away, furious. "Don't you ever touch me again," she snarled.

Chad watched, feeling sick while she leaped out of the bed and began to look for her clothes. He stood and pulled on a nearby pair of jeans, unwilling to just let her go without getting a chance to explain himself, when a loud crash made him hurry into the other room. Andrea had fallen and was laying on her stomach, sobbing angrily; a quick glance around showed that she'd tripped over his sidearm. He crossed to her quickly to check for injuries, terrified that she'd hurt herself because he hadn't explained properly once again. "Andy, are you okay?" he fended off her furious blow easily and lifted her carefully to carry her into the living room where he set her on the couch.

"I _said,_ don't touch me!" she yelled.

His patience abruptly reached the end of its fuse. "You know what, Battle? Go, if you want to leave so badly – that's fucking great. Have a wonderful life without the one person who can save your ass from the rest of IA. Because once I'm gone and your file gets opened by someone else, you can kiss your career goodbye," he flared.

"I don't have to listen to this-" she started to stand.

"Sitthe_ fuck _down!" Andrea fell back immediately, shocked. "I'm trying to help you here, in case you haven't realized – which you clearly haven't – and I resent your accusation that our time together has just been so I can get information," he said angrily. "I thought you knew me better than that."

She drew her legs up to her chest defensively, starting to look ashamed of her outburst. "I thought I did, too, but I just…"

"You just _what_?!?"

"You're not exactly known as the sweetheart of IA, Chad," she finally yelled back at him. "The only experiences I've had with you before we… you know… they haven't been good ones."

He threw up his hands. "I'm not there to make friends, Andrea – I'm there to do my job, and do it well. I can't afford to let personal sentiment enter into anything there…which is why I asked you off the record about whatever the hell you're doing with Slim over in Chinatown."

Andrea sighed heavily, rubbing her eyes before slowly reaching out to him. "Look, I'm sorry I said what I did; I didn't mean it and-"

"You meant it enough to say it out loud," he interrupted, still feeling out of sorts about her accusations.

"I said I was sorry, Chad," she said, starting to get angry again. "I'm trying to tell you something here, so would you mind letting me finish?"

He folded his arms across his chest expectantly. "Fine, then. Go right ahead."

Another glare was aimed his way, but she drew in a deep breath and rubbed her knee instead of starting to yell at him again. "How much do you know?" she asked softly.

Chad settled on the couch beside her as she turned to look up into his face, her eyes worried. He hoped it wasn't another situation like the one he'd bailed Rita out of when they'd still been married… but at least she was ready to tell him. "I've got surveillance photos of you giving payoffs to Danny Yan all over the place, as well as bank statements showing quite a few withdrawals – every time you go to meet him, you've been seen withdrawing up to $3,000 at a time." She closed her eyes reflexively, plainly not having expected it. Chad reached out to touch her gently. "Andy, what's going on? Whatever it is, I'll help you as much as I can."

She started to cry again, looking so hopeless that he didn't know what to do. "It's…. oh, God – you're going to think I'm such an idiot." Andrea wiped her eyes before she continued. "My ex, Eddie Reyes, he…"

"He do something to you?" Chad growled, trying to remember exactly what Reyes looked like – he could probably look him up in the precinct's computer system, and when he found him…

"No, nothing like that. It's just, he had a… problem, I guess you'd say."

Chad interrupted again, unable to help himself. "You didn't kill anyone with a flashlight, did you?"

"What? No! Why a flashlight?"

"No reason, go on…" He sighed in disgust when she started to tell him about Reyes' gambling debts and the cocaine 'problem' that had caused him to be put on probation. His debts were so steep he'd been getting threats of retribution from the bookies who wanted their money back. Apparently she'd tried to help her ex by bringing the bookie's payoffs to Slim, who would take the money to wherever it was owed… unfortunately for her, Reyes hadn't stopped running up a tab so no matter how much she paid to help him out it was never enough. "Jesus Christ, Andrea! Why didn't you tell anyone before now?"

She brushed tears from her eyes and sniffled. "Like anyone would believe me? I bet everyone in IA thinks I'm some kind of druggie or something; isn't that what you thought before you got to know me?"

"Well…."

"See?" Andrea sighed. "I was just trying to help him out, but it just got out of control; somehow some of the debtors found out I was paying Eddie's shit off, and now they've been trying to get more and more from me. I've got no idea what to do – they told me that if I didn't keep paying for his habit, they'd kill him. But when I broke up with him, I told him I wouldn't be covering for him anymore."

Chad scrubbed his hands though his hair and groaned. "Why couldn't you just be smuggling beagles or something?"

"Beagles?"

"Never mind." He leaned forward, thinking hard. "When's the last time you talked to Reyes? If we can get some sort of documentation about his debts and a few statements about your… help… I might be able to swing something."

She looked up at him hopefully. "Really? You'd do that… for me?"

"You'd be surprised at what all I'd do for you," he grumbled, annoyed that this entire dramatic scene was her junkie ex-boyfriend's fault. At least now he knew what she was hiding, and he might even be able to deal with it in a straightforward manner – a clear contrast to Rita's problems he'd had to cover up over the years. "Does this mean you're done being pissed at me for wanting to help you?"

Andrea climbed into his lap, winding her arms around his neck. "I guess so."

tbc…


	14. Chapter 14

Andrea buried her face in the warm curve of Chad's neck, feeling ashamed that she'd doubted his motives for asking her about Slim – trust still didn't come easy to her, no matter how much she lied to herself about it. Being there for Eddie and having it all thrown back in her face had made it hard for her to take people's words at face value. She could tell that Chad still felt offended, and didn't quite know how to show him how sorry she was for overreacting; he'd treated her with nothing but respect the whole time they'd been together. "Chad," she began, raising worried eyes to his.

He stroked a thumb across her cheek gently. "We'll take care of it, I promise." She pressed her forehead against Chad's as his arms tightened around her – she'd find some way to talk to him about it, and she knew he'd be patient with her even though she didn't feel she really deserved it. God only knew, he had enough baggage of his own to deal with without her adding to the pile. "Can we get back to the part where we were in bed together?" he asked plaintively.

"I'd like that." Andrea smiled and slid off his lap, offering him her hand and leading him back in the bedroom where she drew him down for a deep kiss. "I don't like fighting with you."

"I don't like it, either," he confessed. "The making up part is fun, though."

She bit her lip and looked up at him through her lashes. "Are…are you angry with me? I shouldn't have said what I did, I'm sorry," she blurted, unable to simply let their prior argument go. i He just looked so hurt when I yelled… /i 

"No, I'm not angry with you – guess it just goes to show how much we still have to learn about each other."

"But you want to learn?"

Chad smiled at her in a way that made her feel like bursting into tears again, but for a different reason. "I do." He scooped her up to toss her onto the bed and moved to cover her, kissing her tenderly. She stroked as much of his bare skin as she could reach, wanting to convey as much of her feelings for him as she could without using the actual words. He was so different from her previous lovers; passion she'd had in plenty and Chad was certainly able to bring that to their relationship, but she'd never felt so completely wanted in her life. At length, his lips left hers. "Now, about that massage…"

She allowed him to undress her and obediently turned onto her stomach, watching over her shoulder as he pulled his jeans off and retrieved the oil. He caught her looking and immediately assumed a lascivious expression to make her giggle, unscrewing the cap and pouring some in his palm. Chad settled astride her hips and began to rub the muscles of her back and sides until she was mewling with pleasure at his caresses, working his way down her legs and making her skin completely slick with the oil before dropping to his hands and knees above her. "What are you doing? You stopped touching me," she started to complain.

Chad efficiently silenced her objection by lowering himself on his arms and rubbing himself over her. "You were saying…?"

"Nothing…oh, _God_." Andrea's hands fisted in the sheets at the feel of his skin sliding over hers – she raised her hips to push against him when he rubbed his erection over her backside, drawing it between her legs lightly. Chad kept sliding over her until she started struggling to turn over to face him, then allowed her to turn as he picked up the bottle of massage oil once more.

He gave her a wicked grin as he poured a liberal amount of oil in his hand. "Let's see; where should I start first? Maybe right here…" Chad smoothed his palms down the sensitive skin of her stomach and let one hand drift down to the junction of her thighs, grinding his palm against her pubis lightly and making her buck up against him. "Or maybe here…" his hands slid up to palm her breasts roughly, his thumbs deftly teasing her aching nipples before he closed his index and middle fingers around them and tugged.

"_Chad_," she whimpered.

Her big sergeant just smiled and kept working her over with his hands, idly thrusting his cock against her oil-slick belly while she arched her back and tried desperately to make him give her some relief from the torment he was creating between her legs. He moved up her body, continuing to play with her nipples before pressing her breasts together and pushing his hard shaft between them. Chad's lust-darkened eyes flicked between her face and his task and she wriggled beneath him again, reaching up to run her hands up his thighs and closing her fingers around his erect length. She raised her head enough to lick at the tip of him and he groaned slightly before moving down to part her thighs, ducking between them to guide her legs over his shoulders.

After he'd made her a delirious wreck, he reached for the condom and rolled it on before thrusting into her with a strong surge of his hips. Andrea clung to him, unable to emit anything more than an inarticulate wail as he fucked her so hard that the headboard thudded against the wall rhythmically. "Hands and knees," he suddenly ordered, pulling out and flipping her onto her stomach. She barely managed to raise herself onto her knees when he sheathed himself inside her with a growl, trying to remain upright as the force of his thrusts threatened to knock her onto her face.

In this position, he was deeper inside her than he'd ever been and she shuddered, clutching at the headboard as she took each surge of his body into hers. Chad gripped her hips, the sound of his uneven groans driving her closer to orgasm – he sped his thrusts and she screamed his name just as he cried out, and they fell to the mattress in a tangle of limbs. "That….you…" Andrea panted.

God, she was amazing. Chad pressed his face against her hair and breathed in Andrea's scent, feeling like he never wanted to move again. "You too," he sighed. Things just kept getting better and better with her… he was glad that her situation with her ex wasn't as bad as he'd feared; he'd get some information from her in the morning, and make sure the details were noted in her file. Chad shifted into a more comfortable position and leaned in to kiss her, trailing a hand down her side – he'd have to thank old Ernie for making that retirement party so boring that she'd had no other choice but to talk to him. Andrea smiled at him, blinking sleepily and letting her eyes drift closed as he slid the condom off and threw it in the trash, flipping the light off.

She was still asleep when he woke in the morning and he raised himself up on an elbow to watch her snore softly, smiling as she twitched. "Don't touch the slippers!" she cried suddenly.

Chad leaned in close to her ear. "Why not?" he whispered.

"Cos they're _my _bunny slippers," she mumbled.

"I won't touch your bunny slippers," he promised, trying not to laugh as he slid out of bed and pulled on a pair of boxers, walking out to the kitchen to start making breakfast. He'd almost finished when he heard the sound of bare feet on the floor behind him, and he glanced over his shoulder to see her padding up to him dressed in nothing but one of his shirts and rubbing her eyes. "Hi there."

Andrea walked under the arm he held out, standing on her toes for a kiss. "Hi," she echoed, giving him a sweet smile. "Whatcha makin'?"

"Well, I'm making a healthy meal…" he grinned at her disgusted sigh. "…for _me_, but I made a disgusting amount of greasy animal fat just for _you_."

"Oooh, bacon!" She evaded his attempt for another kiss and practically dove for it, making him sigh.

He wasn't sure he liked playing second fiddle to a dead pig. "I can almost hear your arteries slamming shut all the way from here… and what's so special about your bunny slippers?"

She waved her hand at him, gesturing to her mouth and miming that he'd have to wait until she swallowed the piece of bacon she'd seized. "Why bunny slippers?"

"You were talking in your sleep."

"Was not." Her eyes lit up at the sight of the eggs he dumped on her plate. "Where's the silverware?"

Chad pointed to the appropriate drawer. "Get me a fork, will you? And yes, you were. You snore, too."

He was immediately favored with a round-eyed look of denial. "Me? _Snore?"_

"Yes, _you_. It was a dainty little sound, really; quite adorable. In fact, it was positively-"

Andrea waved a piece of bacon at him threateningly before she ate it. "Light your chest hair on fire, you makin' things up like that," she mumbled through her mouthful.

He steered her to the table, laughing. "Do that and I won't go down on you anymore." Not that he ever would, but he figured it was good to show her who was boss.

"What if I just singed it a little bit?"

"Andy. You snore, it's a fact, get over it. Move on," he encouraged, reaching for his food and ducking the piece of egg white that was launched at him from her end of the table.

After they ate he suggested doing the dishes and she suggested a bubble bath, and they compromised on cuddling back in bed and waiting to see if the dishes would clean themselves without any actual work getting done. Chad persuaded her to go for their customary Sunday run, then they drove over to her place where she found the documentation he needed to find her ex and prove her innocence in the case IA was slowly building against her. They spent the rest of the day making love and discovering how well-suited to each other they really were, as well as discussing the matter of their relationship becoming public knowledge. "So, you don't care who knows?" she asked, resting her chin on his stomach and looking up into his face.

"Why would I? We don't have anything to be ashamed of," he said, twining a lock of her hair around a finger.

"Well, it might look kind of suspicious," she murmured slowly. "I mean, everyone knows about you and Hopper and…"

Chad put an arm behind his head and frowned down at her. "What does Hopper have to do with anything?"

She hastily changed the subject but he knew they weren't through talking about it – he didn't want another episode like the previous night though, so he decided to wait before making her tell him whatever was on her mind about it. "So, you join SWAT really soon now – have you told anyone, like your mom? What d'you think she's going to say?" she asked.

This was something _he_ didn't really want to talk about, but hell – this was Andrea he was talking to. "I dunno. She won't like it, that's for sure. I bet you first thing she'll say is that I wasted my education."

Andrea crawled up to stretch out beside him. "What's your mom like?"

"Small and paranoid."

She laughed up at him. "Don't say things like that about your mother! I bet she just feels protective about her little boy… were you ever little?"

"For about 4 months, probably. She'll tell you that the reason she can't walk straight is because I was so large, but I know for a fact that she hurt her back when I was away at college and childbirth had nothing to do with it." He smiled and rumpled Andrea's curls. "What about your family?"

"Just your typical American family, I guess…" she launched into an amusing story about her uncles working in the sheriff's office and he laughed along with her, glad she felt comfortable enough with him to share stories of her childhood with him. Maybe he should ask her if she wanted to come to the family get together that was being organized over the holiday weekend next month – he was curious to see what she'd make of them, and vice versa. If he knew Annie, she'd told all their cousins about Andrea already so they'd be expecting to meet her anyway.

Andrea kissed Chad goodbye and watched as he drove off; maybe one of these days he could stay over at her place and they could get ready for work together. _Aaaaaaaaaand can I get any more pathetic?_ She wasn't the type to hang all over a boyfriend and insist that they spend every waking moment together, for God's sake. "I just like being with him, that's all," she announced to the living room wall. "That's not a crime, is it?"

She tried to concentrate on the new book she'd bought earlier in the week but hadn't had time for yet, but she had to abandon it after a few pages. Cleaning her house didn't help, either – what was wrong with her? When she moped back down the hall to her bedroom, she sighed and flopped down on the bed as she realized what was wrong. _Apparently, I** can** get more pathetic. _ Despite having spent the greater part of the weekend in his company, she missed Chad. _Should I call him? No, that would be incredibly lame. He probably would think I was being clingy_. Still, the bedroom seemed very empty and incredibly lonely without him.

Her doorbell rang suddenly and she sighed again. She really wasn't in the mood to buy any Girl Scout cookies; hadn't she already bought ten boxes last week? Andrea walked to the door and opened it. "I already bought cookies last week," she announced, then stopped to stare in shock.

Chad pouted. "But I haven't met my quota yet! Not to mention that I happen to look very desirable in a green skirt and pigtails."

"Sarge, what are you doing here? You just left," Andrea said carefully, trying to restrain herself from leaping into his arms.

"Forgot my phone," he explained. "Can I come in to look for it?"

"You didn't even have to knock, you know that – of course you can come in," she said, feeling a smile threatening to ruin the calm, cool, collected façade she had going for herself. Maybe he'd stay for dinner, and… "I missed you," she blurted out, then felt like the world's biggest idiot when he started to smile at her. _Shit, shit, shit! I didn't mean to say that. What the fuck made me say that? Shit! _

Chad lifted her into his arms as soon as he shut the door. "You did? Really?"

Her face felt like it was on fire. "No, I just said that to make you think I was pathetic and needy."

"So, you didn't really mean it."

"Of course not," she huffed. "Put me down."

He laughed. "You don't have to be embarrassed because you missed me, Andy."

"But I didn't," she insisted.

"Then I didn't miss you either and I didn't pretend to leave my phone here because it's really in my pocket right now."

Andrea melted against him. "You missed me too?"

"I embrace my pathetic neediness and advise you to do the same." He kissed her and set her back down on her feet. "Is it okay if I spend the night?"

It was more than okay, and she quickly assured him of this fact. "But you'll have to get up a lot earlier to go back home and get dressed for work," she pointed out.

Chad struck a dramatic pose. "Silly narcotics detective, I do not intend to do the Walk of Shame for I have brought my clothes i with /i me and intend to use the extra time in the morning to make sweet, sweet love to the beautiful inhabitant of this house." He made a show of looking around and winked at her. "Why, it looks as if _you _will be the lucky lady to receive my sexual attentions."

Andrea rolled her eyes at his theatrics. "You're not going to talk like that during these promised 'sexual attentions', are you?"

"I'll try not to," he promised.

She walked out with Chad to get his clothes, feeling a sense of contentment settle over her as he smiled at her after hanging up his suit and tossing his shaving kit by the bathroom sink. Andrea sent him in the kitchen to search for ingredients to make dinner with and she busied herself with picking out her outfit for the next day since she knew he'd make good on his playful threat. The sound of the door locking her in with her sergeant had never sounded sweeter.

tbc…


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: If you see something weird in the text like a random "i" or "/i", please let me know - it's a random HTML tag that I didn't catch. Thanks!

Chad looked over the file once more before closing it with a satisfied sigh and sliding it back into a drawer after noting that his replacement would conduct the interview with Andrea. There would be enough people alleging that he was playing favorites when word of his relationship with her got out, and he didn't need to add fuel to _that_ particular fire. He toyed with the idea of calling Hopper in for his statement and smirked – probably wouldn't be a good idea, but it was too good to resist… he impulsively leaned out the door to call to Haight. "Make Detective Hopper an appointment."

"Right away, Sergeant," the man replied, already bending over his keyboard. "There's a spot open tomorrow at three."

Chad smiled. "That'll be just fine."

He selected another file and was so engrossed in reviewing it that he didn't register it at first when his name was called from the doorway. "That must be an interesting case," he was startled to hear Andrea say, and her hands came down on the pages to claim his full attention. He looked up into her amused brown eyes as she leaned across his desk with her lips pursed for a kiss.

Outside in the bullpen, Chad could see through the open door that they were getting some very interested looks. "The door's still open," he reminded her.

Andrea gave him another amused look, leaning to brush the tip of her nose against his. "I don't care," she whispered, and kissed him. When she drew back from him, he felt nearly cross-eyed with lust; no matter how often they made love, it never seemed like it was enough. "You look so cute in here with your tie and your IA Face."

"Uh, I'll have to take your word for that…what's going on?" He shifted in his chair uncomfortably.

"What's wrong with you - hemorrhoids or hard-on?"

"The last one. Did you actually want something, or did you just come to torment me?" he asked exasperatedly. "And what's an 'IA Face'?"

She grinned and flopped down into a chair. "Torment cleverly disguised as an offer of lunch. Want some?"

"Are you talking about wanting actual food, or…?"

"I always knew that underneath those expensive suits was beating the heart of a freak," Andrea teased. "Sadly I offer not a quickie in the Ballistics supply closet, but a plate of kung pao chicken."

He eyed her. "Do you have any idea how much MSG is in-"

"Aaaaand the nutrition talk is my cue to leave," she said hastily, standing up to go. "Oh, almost forgot. What's this I hear about you having an appointment with Hopper? I thought you said you'd hand my case over, so why did you call him in?"

"Because I can. Now get out," he ordered.

Andrea came around his desk and laughed at his refusal to turn his chair to face her, so pressed an affectionate kiss to the side of his face and darted a hand in his lap to squeeze his crotch. Chad slammed a hand down on his desk irritably and she scooted to the doorway, turning to look back at him from the safety of the bullpen. "Are you sure you don't want any, um, Chinese food?" she called.

He glared and pointedly snatched up the abandoned file, rapping it smartly on the desk and pretending to go back to reading it. The moment she turned her back he grabbed a piece of paper, crumpled it into a ball, and bounced it off the back of her head while Haight stared in disbelief. "Go catch a crack whore, Battle."

The next day he was sufficiently out of sorts at having spent the night alone that he looked forward to harassing Hopper more than ever- his successor would call the other man in for the official interview, but Hopper didn't know that and Chad wasn't about to tell him. He kept his eyes lowered as he noted the detective's entrance and rooted around in a desk drawer needlessly. "What's all this about? I've got work to do and a lead to check out," the man complained.

Chad arranged a pile of menus in front of him and pretended to scan them. "It's always nice to see you too, Detective Hopper. Have a seat." This was going to be fun. "What can you tell me about your partner's recent visits to Chinatown?"

"This is about _Andrea_? What the-"

"Answer the question, Detective. She's been seen in that area quite often lately; more so than usual." He raised his eyes to look at the man across from him, and felt anger speeding his pulse slightly. i You're supposed to be her partner, and I bet she never even told you. And you never even asked, did you/i "Do you have anything you'd like to share about this?"

Hopper rubbed the side of his face, frowning. "Her CI is there, but she never said anything about it to me."

"Maybe she feels like she can't trust you," Chad needled. "She wouldn't be the first, though, now would she?"

The other man glared across at him, closing his hands in fists. "Did you drag me in here to ask me about my partner, or just to whine about the fact that Rita's with me now?"

Chad bit back a quick response to that and paused for a second. True, he didn't like Hopper – but the dislike had its roots in the breakup of his failed marriage... so _had _he really called Hopper in to harass him about Rita? He knew that, deep down, he'd always be fond of the petite nurse and grateful or the good times that they'd shared, even though she'd broken his heart by leaving him – but he didn't love her anymore. What could it hurt to tell the truth for once? "If she's with you now, it's because we weren't right for each other. I accept that, but still don't like you and probably never will," he said finally. His phone rang and he picked it up. "Shelten."

"Sergeant, I think you need to get down here," Haight said excitedly.

"Where is 'here' and why should I be getting there? I'm in a meeting," he reminded the other man.

"Your ex-wife is down here in Narcotics talking to Detective Battle – she looks pretty ang-"

"Be right there." Chad hung up the phone and headed for the door immediately, brushing aside Hopper's questions and running down the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. He had a bad feeling about this…which turned out to be perfectly justified when he emerged from the stairwell to see Andrea knock Rita on her ass with a right hook. "Andy, what the hell?" he asked as he hauled her into a nearby office.

She told him what had to be a severely edited version of what happened, and he felt a tightening in his chest when Andrea quietly hinted at her insecurity where Rita was concerned. He reassured her lightly and steered her out to do something about her cheek, resolving to have that talk with her she'd asked him about a while back. It wasn't right that she felt he could still favor Rita above her after he'd already shown her much more of himself than he'd meant to at this stage of their relationship. With a final glance over his shoulder at a still-stunned Rita being helped up by several detectives, he pressed the button on the elevator and ushered her into it.

She allowed him to lift her up onto the counter, watching as he frowned in concentration while he rummaged in the small freezer for ice and wrapped a few cubes up in a nearby cloth. "I really didn't mean to hit her so hard," she apologized.

"I know you didn't – but I already told you that I wasn't worried about her. You two can work it out later after both your tempers have had a chance to cool off," Chad murmured. "Hold still." One of his big, warm hands cupped the unhurt side of her face gently, holding her in place as he pressed the makeshift icepack to the mark Rita had left. "Look, I was thinking-"

"Always a dangerous thing."

"Very funny. How's the face?"

"Numb on one side, ticklish on the other from all the hair on your palm. Don't think I don't know what you were doing all by yourself last night," she joked.

Chad widened his eyes at her and went with it. "What were you, spying on me? No, I was thinking that I could take you out tonight." She agreed and leaned into his touch as he lifted the icepack off and inspected her face. "Give me a call when you want me to pick you up." He set her on her feet as Haight appeared in the door to remind him that Hopper was still waiting in his office, squeezing her hand before releasing her. "Don't get into any more cat fights, Crackhead."

"I won't," she pledged, glancing over at the other IA officer who watched their interaction interestedly. "I'm not in it for immunity," she informed the man as she walked past him.

"I never suggested that you were," Haight said mildly.

Rita was gone by the time she got back to Narcotics, and she received a standing ovation from those who had been close enough to hear what had happened. Her cheek was still a little sore, but she couldn't imagine how Rita must feel – she'd smacked her a good one. When Hopper found out about it… well, she wasn't relishing the confrontation. Thankfully, he didn't return before it was time for her to go and Andrea went home to shower and change, calling Chad before starting to dry her hair.

He showed up dressed casually, and she smiled at the sight of a black baseball cap turned backwards on his head. "You look good," she told him when he looked at her quizzically.

"It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it. Ready to go?" he smiled after brushing his lips against hers. "It's nothing fancy, but I think you'll like it." Andrea was pleasantly surprised at his choice and they enjoyed their dinner, holding hands beneath the table like teenagers and kissing every chance they got. She liked that Chad didn't constantly press her for sex, and was equally content to simply hold her in his arms and kiss her for hours on end.

They were laughing over shared stories of first dates when he pulled up to her house and slid his arm around her shoulders when they got out of the car. "…and she really fell for that?" Andrea hooted.

"Well, yeah – I told you I was big for my age. She was so pissed when she found out I was only thirteen," Chad laughed. "You should've seen her fa-"

An angry voice interrupted him suddenly. "What the hell's going on here?"

_Oh, shit. Hopper_.

"You seem to be lost, Hopper. Your place isn't anywhere near here," Chad said calmly, his arm still firmly around her. "If you want, I could draw you a map or something."

"What're you - hey, let go of her," the detective yelled as Chad resumed walking up the steps with her.

Andrea felt her anger rising and she slipped from beneath her lover's arm. "It's okay, Chad. I'll handle this if you want to make that tea we were talking about."

Chad folded his arms and leaned against the porch railing. "I don't think so. I'm not going to let you stand here and take his crap," he informed her. "I've got your back."

"More like you've got her _on_ her back because you can't stand me," Hopper yelled. "I can't believe that you-"

"You want to watch your mouth," Chad said softly, the menace in his tone unmistakable.

Hopper whirled on her suddenly. "You know, when Rita told me what happened I thought it was all a mistake. And here I find you, letting him touch you even though you know he could never love you. He doesn't love anything except himself, Andrea. He's just trying to get back at me by using you; can't you see that?"

She felt like she was going to be sick. "Just leave, Brett."

"I'm not leaving you here with him," Hopper insisted. "He was asking questions about you earlier, did he tell you about _that?_ No, it probably slipped his mind because he was too busy getting into your-"

Chad stepped forward so quickly she didn't have time to react as he punched Hopper in the face, bloodying the other man's nose. "Chad," she cried in dismay. "You shouldn't have done that."

"No, I should've done it sooner," the big man snarled. "You want some more? Come on, Hopper!" He lunged forward once more and she darted in front of him so that he had to throw himself backward to avoid slamming into her.

Andrea placed a quelling hand on Chad's heaving chest and turned to Hopper. "If he didn't care, he wouldn't have stopped himself from hurting me. Not everything is about you, Brett; stay out of this one, okay?" She turned to look up into her sergeant's still-furious face. "Let's go inside and get some of my stuff – I think I'll stay with you at your place tonight, if that's okay." He tore his gaze away from Hopper and nodded at her, his large frame trembling with anger.

"But, what about those questions he was asking me?" Hopper tried, holding his nose gingerly.

She sighed and turned back to face her partner. "Chad's helping me out with a problem of Eddie's, Brett. He was probably just messing with you. Tell Rita I didn't mean to hit her that hard, will you please? I'll stop by to apologize later." Andrea steered Chad towards the door and inside. "Please leave," she requested. Once inside, she quickly gathered a bagful of things and was relieved to see that Hopper had left when they walked back to his car.

They didn't speak until her clothes had been transferred to the house and the door was locked behind them, then Chad sat down on the edge of the bed. "It's not true, what he said." He studied the carpet.

"I know."

"Is that what Rita said, too?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not like that, I wouldn't," he sighed, looking up at her with such a sad expression on his face that it hurt her to see it.

She sank down on the carpet in front of him, putting her hands on his knees. "I know," she repeated.

"I know I'm not…not a very good person sometimes. Sometimes I don't even try to be – well, a lot of the time I don't." He swallowed hard. "I'd never hurt you, Andrea. Not on purpose."

His pained, halting recital was almost more than she could bear. "It's okay, I understand," she soothed.

Chad cleared his throat. "Do you remember what you said one time, about if I ever wanted to tell you…?"

She nodded, taking his hands in hers. "Of course I do, sweetheart."

"I think I'm ready to," he said awkwardly.

"You can tell me anything."

tbc...


	16. Chapter 16

center A/N: Silliness ahead, and a smiiiiiiiidgen of plot. But mostly just silliness.

/center 

The feel of warm breath fanning over the side of her face woke her, and she blinked sleepily over at the clock on Chad's side of the bed to see that it was still early and the alarm hadn't gone off yet. Andrea smiled tenderly at her still-slumbering bedmate, who was lying on his side with his face inches from hers, and reached over to touch his arm. He stirred and muttered something, so she guided him into her arms where he snuggled against her and went back to sleep as she stroked his hair. The previous night's conversation had been wholly unexpected, but she was glad he had finally told her; he was hers now more than ever and despite the fact that she usually avoided intimacy like the plague she felt completely at ease with Chad.

And he'd trusted her enough to open up to her. Andrea smoothed a palm down his back, welcoming the warm, solid weight of him in her arms. Their biggest test as a couple remained, since the news of their relationship was likely all over the precinct by now… but she could deal with it and knew that Chad could, too. Maybe it was time to finally admit to herself how she felt about him, and stop tip-toeing around the issue; the last few months with him had been among the happiest of her life. "I love you," she whispered. i Now I just have to get the courage to tell him while he's awake /i . He sighed in his sleep and Andrea smiled, pulling the covers over them and settling back against the pillows, content to hold him until he woke.

When the alarm started beeping, Chad let out a soft groan of protest and buried his face in her neck. "What time is it?"

"Half past six. Good morning."

Chad shifted his weight off of her, brushing his lips against hers before stifling his yawn against a pillow. "Morning - was I squishing you?"

"Just a little bit."

"Sorry."

"I don't mind." She gazed at him, reaching out to trace the line of his jaw where his shadow beard darkened his face. "Everyone's going to know about us by the time we go to work."

Chad sat up, rolling his powerful shoulders and arching his back to stretch while she admired the view. "After the singular beat-downs we gave out yesterday, I don't doubt it. Shower?"

She nodded, slipping out of bed and following him into the bathroom where she noted that there were two matching towels. "Where's my pink towel?" Andrea asked in mock-outrage. He tossed a grin over his shoulder at her as he stepped into the shower and flipped the water on.

"Don't tell me you liked that thing; I got it for a buck at some street fair just to mess with you… hey, let me help you with that," he suggested when she reached past him for a washcloth. "I'm a lot better than your standard sponge – everyone says so."

"Everyone? You're such a man whore!" Andrea laughed up at him, giving his chest a gentle shove. "Stay on your side; I've got to shave my legs."

He gave her a disappointed look and picked up the soap, ducking beneath the spray. "Technically, the entire shower is my side since it's my house… want me to turn the water down? And is that my razor?"

"Technically, yes. But I'm sure you wouldn't mind sharing with me." She made a show of batting her eyes.

"I'll only share with you if you come over here and let me help wash you," Chad bargained. Andrea admitted defeat and allowed him to pull her closer, finally chasing the amorous sergeant out of the shower when she realized that they'd only have a handful of minutes to get dressed and eat before they had to leave for work. "You need me to drop you off at your place or anything?" he asked when she flew past him into the kitchen in search of breakfast.

Andrea retrieved the carton of milk and shook it. "No, we can just drive in together – I've got paperwork to do today…and who left a teaspoon of milk in here?"

"Wasn't me," Chad replied cheerfully, looking in the mirror as he knotted his tie. "Guess that leaves only one of us as the guilty party."

"You're right – Meredith would totally do something like this. He's been walked, right?" She ignored Chad's headshake at her blaming the dog and went back to rooting around in the fridge.

"Yeah, I let him out when you were still in the shower. C'mon, we can stop for coffee on the way."

i I could get used to this /i , she thought with a smile, looking over at Chad as they drove into the LAPD parking garage. "So, what're you working on; same Quai Long stuff, or is it anything new?" he asked. They walked out into the sunlight as they headed towards the main entrance, and the first few officers they met began to give them the strange looks that Andrea suspected would be the standard fare for at least the next month. i Here we go… show time. /i 

"Only slightly new, but it looks like it's connected – mountains of paperwork await me, and I guess I should get to it," she sighed. "See you for lunch?"

"Yeah, sure – just come on up and we can order in if you want," Chad offered, lifting his chin in farewell. "Later."

Andrea smiled back at him and turned to head for the elevators when a small group of officers intercepted her. "Hey, Battle…" She rolled her eyes and stepped in as they followed her inside. "So, we hear you're bangin' Shelten? Never thought you'd go for someone like that nasty bastard," one of them cracked.

"Hey, maybe she's just doing him so she can get away with shit," another laughed.

"That's gotta be it – she turned me down flat a few weeks past."

She shook her head and prepared to leave the elevator as the doors slid open and she saw Hopper heading towards her. "See ya later, boys."

"C'mon, Battle… guy that size, you just know he's packing about as much punch as a cap gun. What's he got that keeps you around?"

Hopper reached them just as she turned to confront the grinning idiots. "Actually, Phelps, he's perfectly in proportion." She held her hands apart to demonstrate. "Plus, he goes down… and he's very, i very /i good at it." Turning, she left them gawping in disbelief as the elevators doors closed.

"I i didn't /i just hear that," Hopper griped.

"Just pretend you didn't, then." Andrea surveyed her partner's bruised nose interestedly. "Did he break it?"

center /center 

"That should do it – keys are on the desk, and they should be by sometime next week to put your name on the door," Chad told Preisser who was fidgeting nervously and rubbing his palms together. "What's wrong with you?" he finally demanded.

The smaller man cleared his throat. "Nothing, I just-"

"Just what?" He glanced at his watch; he'd be taking Andrea out later and didn't want to be late. "You're not worried that no one will respect you, are you?"

"Well…"

"Just haul in at least three people first thing Monday morning. If you're nasty enough, they'll spread the word… maybe get some beat cops in here. They scare easily," Chad suggested. "Any questions, you know where to find me." He hoped he wouldn't have to come back up to haul Preisser's fat out the fire if he messed up too badly, but maybe he'd get lucky – he'd trained the man, after all. With a nod, he swung his suit jacket over one shoulder and left his office for the last time. Walking out the main doors, he was mildly surprised to see Rita waiting just outside. "Hey, Rita," he greeted courteously as he walked past.

His ex-wife turned to look after him, obviously expecting him to stop and talk to her. i Like I'm just going to forget what she told Andrea about me… /i Hiding a smirk, he kept going. Thankfully, the SWAT guys had decided to leave his car alone this time – earlier in the week when news of his involvement with Andrea had gone wide, they'd walked back to the garage to find that Second Team had decorated the SUV with signs proclaiming "Just Married" and "D2 + S2 4ever". They'd even taken the trouble to decorate the bumper with a string of baby shoes, to Chad's dismay. Andrea had apparently thought it was the funniest thing she'd ever seen in her life.

After picking up some flowers for her, he stopped to shower and change before heading to her place – as he turned the corner of her block, he noticed a beat up car leaving her place and frowned. If that was who he thought it was… he found Andrea wide-eyed and trembling, and sighed. Damn it. "What'd Eddie want this time?" He tucked her head under his chin as he pulled her into his arms, rubbing her back soothingly. The subject of her ex-boyfriend was still a sore spot even though she'd told him everything – she felt responsible for not realizing it when the idiot had gone off the deep end into his addiction.

"He wants more money to pay his debts; I don't know what he's trying to pull. He started getting aggressive, telling me he knew about you and…" She pressed her face into his chest and exhaled hard. "I'm worried he might do something to hurt you."

Chad laughed, startling her. "What could he possibly do to me? You're not getting rid of me that easily," he joked. "Don't worry, Andy. Nothing's going to happen to me." She relaxed slowly under his touch, and he bent to kiss the top of her head. "We could just stay in, if you want."

Andrea shook her head, drawing back from him slightly. "No, let's just go… oh, you brought me flowers?" She smiled happily as he handed them to her, and he followed her into the kitchen to watch her search for a glass large enough to hold them. Chad made a mental note to buy her a vase since she didn't seem to have any. "Where are we going?"

He guided her out of the house and to his car. "It's a surprise."

She started to smile as he pulled up outside a pottery studio. "Chad, you've got to be kidding me."

"What? What's going on? You like pottery, right? I thought everyone liked pottery," he teased. He was actually quite proud of himself for thinking up such a thing, figuring that she'd never done anything like it – he hadn't either, but thought it might be fun. Andrea's eyerolls and giggles made the whole thing worthwhile when they were directed to a pottery wheel and given a lump of clay, but she settled down upon seeing the other couples present and they watched a short demonstration before he poked a finger at their clay. "What d'you want to make, a plate or something?"

"I don't know…. Oh, wait, wait!" Andrea flailed her hands at him excitedly. "We can make a cup, and call it 'The Love Mug'!"

He grinned. "Yeah - we can paint a '53' on the side when we're done." The petite detective settled between his legs on the bench and leaned towards the pottery wheel, following the lead of the other couples around the room. After a few minutes, he frowned over her shoulder at their…whatever-it-was. "This does i not /i look like a mug."

"Why don't you try putting your hands around it to hold it into shape, while I make the inside hollow? I think that's how she said to do it," Andrea mused.

"Okay…" They tried it and it certainly seemed to work, but he was growing steadily more distracted by the feel of an excited Andrea squirming between his legs as the shape emerged from the clay and he nuzzled the back of her neck.

" i Chad /i ."

He sighed. "Sorry." To take his mind away from the way she was moving, he leaned forward and started humming 'Unchained Melody' directly in her ear. What was to be The Love Mug wobbled dangerously as she started laughing so hard she almost lost control of the pottery wheel altogether.

"Chaaaaaaad!"

This time, he smirked. "Sorry." At length, after more hysterics at several failed attempt at making a mug handle, Andrea went to wash her hands while he carefully painted the monstrosity they'd created. "This has to be the ugliest mug I've ever seen in my life," Chad informed her as she came back to grin at the lopsided piece of crap.

"Love isn't always pretty," she reproved him as she gazed at what they'd made. "I like it."

"It can stay at your house, then," Chad offered.

"You are generosity itself, Sergeant Shelten."

"I try, you know?" He tried not to laugh as one of the shop attendants came by to give them a bag for The Love Mug and stared at it incredulously. "Yeah, we know it's ugly."

"Chad! How can you say that about our mug? We're like its parents now or something, since we made it together. You can't be mean to our child," Andrea snickered as she placed it in the bag carefully and slipped her hand in his as they walked out. "We can have joint custody of it."

He opened her door for her and rolled his eyes. "Fine, but it's your week first."

"Then we have to discuss mug support."

"Okay….what?" They haggled over the mug all through dinner until they were both nearly breathless with laughter at the scandalized looks they were getting when others thought they were discussing custody of a real child. When they arrived back at her place and The Love Mug was put in a place of honor above the television, he pulled her into his arms. "You're crazy, you know that?"

Andrea fluttered her eyelashes at him playfully. "To know me is to love me," she teased before her eyes went wide as she realized what she'd just said. "I mean…"

Chad leaned down and touched his lips to hers. "To know you i is /i to love you," he said softly. He'd been unsure just how to say it, but he'd wanted to let her know for some time now.

"You…you…huh?" She sounded startled.

"I love you," he repeated.

Andrea hauled his head down to hers for a kiss. "Love you, too."

"Glad to hear it." She pulled him behind her to the bedroom and he followed, turning off the lights as he went.

center tbc…

/center 


	17. Chapter 17

center /center 

Everything was going right for once, Chad thought with a satisfied sigh as he glanced over at Andrea. She was sitting in the passenger seat, engrossed in flipping through a supply catalog and studying the new Kevlar products. "Anything good in there?" He started the car and pulled into the street, frowning slightly as he noticed a familiar-looking car parked down the block.

"More of the same, but this one looks good," she commented, pointing to one of the bullet-proof vests and going back to thumbing through the catalog after he'd had a chance to glance over at it. "I'm thinking about getting a spare. How many do you SWAT boys have?" she asked curiously.

"Two, but I still have my old one when I was still an Officer."

Andrea closed the glossy pages and shifted in her seat to look at him. "Were you ever shot? I mean, I know you've got some scars but you've never told me much about them…"

He laughed. "I keep forgetting that you've never heard all my stories. Did you ever hear about that cripple in Tarzana?"

She shook her head and settled back in her seat to listen. "I want to know everything about you."

Chad smiled. "We've got all the time in the world for that." After nearly six months together, he was still in no hurry to uncover all her secrets – she'd told him what he needed to know about her, and as far as he was concerned, anything else she wanted to share with him was a gift. "I love you," he reminded her suddenly, reaching a hand over to touch her cheek.

"I love you too, Sarge," Andrea said softly, turning her head to kiss his knuckles. "Are you sure your family's going to like me?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course they will." He wondered briefly about the advisability of pulling the car over so he could give her reassurance of an entirely different kind, but decided against it… they'd be late, and he hated being late. Even if he was late more than he'd like these days, but it was bound to happen to anyone if they woke up and Andrea was in bed next to them.

Chad sighed and shook his head, thinking about the trick she'd played on him the previous weekend; knowing his phobia of tardiness, she had shaken him awake and pointed to the clock, telling him that he was going to be late. He'd fallen for it and had leaped from the bed and pulled on his clothes in a rush, only realizing it was Saturday morning when running out the door and seeing one of the neighbors wheeling a mower from his garage. In retaliation, he'd rolled Andrea up in the coverlet and carried her out the door to dump his giggling burden in the backyard, locking the doors and climbing back in bed while she tried to get back inside the house.

He dialed his mother's phone number and dutifully let her know that he was on his way and yes, he was bringing Andrea along like she'd asked… as if he wouldn't have brought her anyway? Andrea bent an amused glance his way at his exasperated tone when his mother started asking the sort of questions he'd rather she didn't, such as if he'd mind terribly if Andrea slept in the same room with Annie and Sarah because he wasn't married to her and she wasn't having any premarital sex happening under her roof. "Mom," he finally protested. "I can't handle talking about my sex life with you – you didn't ask when I was with Rita, did you?" Andrea stuffed her fist against her mouth to muffle her laughter. "What? No, she's nothing i like /i Rita, thank God - and what is that supposed to mean, that's why you're making sure we don't…? i Bye, Mom /i ." He hung up and tossed the phone over his shoulder into the backseat, irritated.

Andrea coughed. "Let me guess – separate beds?"

"On opposite sides of the house," he grumbled.

She reached up and placed her palm against the back of his head lovingly. "I think we can go without for an entire weekend, Sarge."

" i I /i can't." He'd become accustomed to falling asleep next to her in either his bed or hers – ever since the night they'd finally confessed their feelings for each other, they rarely slept apart. "And it's a i three day /i weekend!"

"Poor baby."

"Your pity warms my heart," he said sarcastically. "We've gotta stop to pick up some ice and a couple cases of beer, do you want anything? There's obviously going to be no need for any condoms..." he'd been looking forward to making love to her someplace other than the familiar surroundings they'd become used to.

She winked at him. "We don't need to use them anymore – I went to the doctor last week, remember?"

center /center 

Andrea watched the crafty look forming in his eyes and smiled, knowing that Chad was thinking up some way to lure her off when they got to his parents house… she wouldn't mind a bit, as long as her reputation wouldn't suffer in his mother's eyes. It was odd and out of character for her, but she wanted to make a good impression on his family – Chad was the most important thing in her life, and she didn't want anything to ruin the bond they were forming. It scared her sometimes when she thought of how much she loved him; every day she found herself just a little deeper in love with the big sergeant.

And he loved her just as much, if not more. She'd never have thought such a man could exist; to outsiders he was intimidating in size and manner, and his words could cut a person to the quick – nobody expected a man who looked like Chad to be as intelligent as he was. But to her, he was warm, sweet, and so funny he often made her collapse in laughter for minutes at a time with the things he'd say. And he was a phenomenal lover….she shivered just thinking of the previous night when she'd lain in his strong arms while he moved inside her gently, whispering how much he loved her.

"Do you need any help?" she asked as he got out of the car when they pulled into a supermarket parking lot an hour later.

Chad glanced over. "No, but I could use the company."

"Sounds like a plan." She walked under the arm he held out and Chad tucked her against his side as they walked in to collect the required beer and ice. "You know, I'll never forget that time we went grocery shopping with Second Team," she laughed. "I don't think that store's employees have ever quite recovered from having a contingent of SWAT descend upon them."

He laughed along with her. "That was some fun, wasn't it? No, don't get the Budweiser, that stuff's like water…" They paid and loaded up the back of the Yukon when another car caught Chad's eye. "Let's go," he said suddenly.

"Trouble?" Andrea asked, glancing down at the small purse she'd brought to conceal her issued weapon in.

"Might be; get in." He pulled out of the parking lot and behind the pickup truck, turning the lights on as they stopped at a red light. Andrea could see the driver of the other car glance in his rearview mirror, and as soon as the light turned green the man floored it and roared away. Chad sped up and Andrea thanked her lucky stars that she was already belted as they hurtled around a corner after the truck.

She hung on, wide-eyed with amazement as Chad maneuvered the SUV through traffic, tires squealing. "What the hell's going on?" They followed the truck through a suburban neighborhood and when the man pulled into a driveway of a large house in a cul-de-sac, she reached down for her gun as the man took off. The car screeched to a halt and Chad was out the door running after the man, yelling something.

Chad tackled the other man just as the door opened and a tiny dark haired woman ran out of the house. "What's going on here…? You boys knock it off and get in the house right now," she scolded. "I don't know what in the world is wrong with you two – oh, you must be Andrea!" The woman, who could only be Chad's mother, bustled down the steps towards her in such a determined manner that Andrea didn't know whether she should stand her ground or turn around and run away. As she approached, Andrea tried a tentative smile that was returned with such warmth that she couldn't bring herself to be intimidated by this woman. "Oh, we've been waiting to meet you!"

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Shelten…"

"Please, call me Laurel. Come inside," she was instructed, and Andrea was led past the two men who were rolling about on the grass struggling for the advantage. She cast a somewhat despairing look towards her lover, who was more interested in grinding his opponent's face into the turf than introducing her properly to his family. "Oh, we won't bite…much," Chad's mother laughed, correctly interpreting her glance. "Those two will need at least ten more minutes rolling around in the mud before they decide they're finished for the meantime."

Andrea tried one last ploy to delay the inevitable. "But I really should bring in my things…"

A firm grip on her elbow steered her into the living area, where at least six other women and four men perked up at the sight of her. "Nonsense, Chad and Andrew will bring your things inside when they're finished working off all that excess testosterone. Now come on in and sit down," Laurel invited, and began to point out the different people in the room. "Over there are Chad's three sisters Rebecca, Megan, and I believe you've met our Annie…"

Andrea's eyes widened as she recognized the slight woman who had been at the dance studio Chad had taken her to. "Yes, I have, but-"

"Oh, he didn't tell you we were related?" Annie laughed.

"I think his mind was somewhere else that night," Andrea said, then blushed as she realized what she'd just said. Annie laughed harder and waved off her mother's curious look.

She was introduced to Chad's cousins and brothers-in-law, and then did her best to retain her wits throughout the barrage of questions such as where had she met Chad? What had she thought of him at first? Was he good to her? What kind of family did she have, and had Chad met them yet? If he did, what did he think? How long had they been together? Was it true that her current partner was the one who was now dating Rita? What did she think of Rita, and about Chad being divorced? Did she and Chad want to get married?

"Whoa, go easy – this isn't a grand jury investigation," Chad suddenly broke in from where he was standing in the doorway, his clothes rumpled and grass-stained. "She just got here."

To Andrea's relief, he came over and ousted a cousin out of their spot so he could sit down beside her and encircle her with an arm. His touch restored her equilibrium and she was able to draw a deep breath and attempt to answer all the questions that had been thrown at her. "No, it's okay, Chad… we actually met when he hauled me into IA as soon as I was assigned to Narcotics," she informed the room, and had to elbow Chad when he started to snicker. "But we didn't form any sort of relationship until years later, when we were at a retirement party…"

At length, the interrogation was over and they all went outside to the backyard where several nieces and nephews were playing a very lively game of softball without too much attention to actual rules. "Are you done trying to kill your cousin for the day?" Laurel asked. "You didn't even say hello properly," she chastised, and Andrea smiled at the sight of Chad stooping to give his mother a hug and a kiss on the cheek; she didn't even come up to mid-chest level on him.

"How did you manage to create someone as huge as Chad?" Andrea couldn't help asking. Her sergeant was easily the biggest person there, towering over everyone. "I mean, you're…" she stopped herself from pointing out that Laurel was even shorter than i she /i was "…a lot smaller than he is."

Some of the kids spotted them and a cry of, "Uncle Chad!" went up, and at least four of them ran up to grab their uncle's hands and tug him off somewhere while he cast an apologetic look at her and followed. "Well, his father and I certainly weren't expecting him to turn out as large as he grew to be… my back has never recovered from the strain of giving birth to that lummox," Laurel confided and Andrea hid a grin, remembering what Chad had told her his mother would say about that. "Now, I realize that you two are probably on intimate terms but I think you're able to curtail your activities for the weekend," she said suddenly. "We've got you bedding down with Annie, Meg and Becca, if you don't mind…?"

Andrea coughed. "Um…no, ma'am, that's just fine."

Chad's mother was quick to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "There's no blame in it, dear – whatever you two do on your own time is no concern of mine and I know how persuasive my boy can be. Lord only knows the trouble he stirred up when he was going through adolescence! I once caught him with the neighbor's daughter and you should have seen what they were-"

From somewhere around the corner of the house came Chad's appalled yell of, " i Mom! /i "

center tbc…

/center 


	18. Chapter 18

Andrea started in surprise when she woke up to yells coming from the backyard. "What's going on?" she wondered, climbing out of bed and peering out the window just as a loud splash made Megan wake up and stomp past her to throw the window open, knocking the screen out with a flailing fist.

"_Hey!_ Keep it down out there, you idiots – we're trying to _sleep_ in here!" Chad's sister whirled around and flung herself back into her sleeping bag irritably. "Don't know what the hell they're doing up this early," she grumbled. "Any normal person should still be in bed."

Across the room, Annie opened an eye and looked at her blearily. "Wha's hap'nin'?"

Andrea hid her grin at this evidence that Chad was apparently the only morning person in his entire family. "Someone's out in the pool," she informed the other woman. They'd stayed up late talking about various things, and it looked as if Rebecca was still dead to the world. She opened her mouth to voice her suspicion about who was outside when Megan's piercing shriek split the air - Annie nearly fell out of bed laughing when she looked over to see Chad leaning through the window wringing his wet shirt out over Megan's head.

"Rise and shine, ladies!"

"Dammit, Chad - go _away_," Rebecca groaned from beneath her pillow. "It's too early to be alive."

"Yeah, Sasquatch; get your ass outta here," Megan yelled, smacking him with a nearby tissue box.

Chad sighed and threw the wet shirt across the room hard enough to make it stick to the wall directly above Rebecca's head before lunging for Andrea, who allowed herself to be hauled against the window for a good morning kiss. "How'd you sleep?" he asked.

"Good – your sisters told me all about you last night…"

"Uh oh. We've got to get you out of here," Chad teased before being chased off by his sisters, who decided that ganging up on him was the best way of getting him out of there. They all laughed as they soon heard Laurel yelling at him for dripping on the carpet and his loud complaint that he could never do anything right, could he? Annie chortled at her mother's rejoinder that he obviously could do _something_ right, or he wouldn't have brought Andrea to meet them.

The rest of the day was spent being relatively lazy by the pool, helping with dinner preparations, and watching Chad and Andrew continue their testosterone-fueled battle for dominance. She'd asked about their odd behavior, and Laurel had confided that the two had grown up together and had always been extremely competitive – being nearly the same size had allowed them to roughhouse without seriously injuring each other. "It's a miracle they survived to adulthood… the jury's still out about the maturity part of it," his mother had laughed. Chad's father, James Shelten, had further compounded the mystery of the SWAT sergeant's size as he was only half a head taller than Laurel.

His parents were still getting used to the idea of their son returning to a high-risk work environment and had been taken aback at Andrea's support of his career shift, but liked the idea that she could theoretically 'keep an eye' on Chad for them. She'd simply smiled and changed the subject as Chad came to join the conversation. Of course, that was the cue for Andrew to come swaggering over to try and claim her attention so that they were shortly at it with hammer and tongs yet again.

Chad dropped into a lounge chair after having finished with the kitchen chores he'd been nabbed for, watching Andrea splash around in the pool with two of his nieces and a nephew. He hadn't been sure how she'd act around them, but she seemed to be pretty confident and all the kids liked her… right now she was teaching David how to swim, something the boy had been a little too timid to do when he'd offered to teach him. It figured that all David had needed was a beautiful blonde to spur him on, Chad thought with a smile.

Andrea looked up at him to catch him looking at her, and smiled back. "Heya, Sarge."

"So, how is it that you get out of kitchen duty?" he teased lightly, already knowing that she'd been helping out with nearly everything despite being told that she was a guest and didn't have to do a single thing. "I tried to pull that whole 'guest' thing on my mom, but it didn't work out that well."

"Well, gee – I wonder why?" She directed her attention back to David, who was almost overbalancing in his water wings. "Be careful, don't kick so much…don't you want to take those off?" David shook his head fearfully and tried to paddle away from her when she reached for him. Chad watched amusedly as his nephew finally ran off to find Rebecca and tell her about what he'd learned, and Andrea swam a few laps before climbing out and coming over. "Where's Andrew?" she asked, perching on the edge of his chair.

Chad reached out to run his fingers over the water droplets on her arm. "Inside, I think. Why?"

"No reason; I just want to spend a little time with you," she said softly, leaning in for a kiss. He pushed his fingers into the wet tangle of her hair and drew her closer while she sighed against his lips. Andrea drew back with the dreamy expression he'd become used to seeing on her face whenever she was aroused and he swore to himself, wishing they had complete privacy. "Like my bikini?"

He shook his head. "No."

"_No?"_ she pushed out her lower lip in a fake pout.

"I think you should take it off this instant." Andrea slapped his hands away when he tugged lightly on the strings, and Chad hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her in the house, kicking and squirming as he tickled the backs of her knees. He stole another kiss when his mother's back was turned and sent her off to shower and change with a gentle spank. "Don't forget, we've got football in an hour," he called after her as she ran up the stairs. Turning around and heading into the kitchen to see if his help was needed, he took a seat next to Annie and started helping her with cutting up the vegetables.

His mother pulled up a chair and settled into it. "She's wonderful with children," she hinted.

"I know, Mom."

"When are you going to settle down and have some of your own?"

Chad set down the knife and looked across at her. "Well, I don't know – I've been trying and trying, but I can't seem to get pregnant. I told Andy that maybe we're trying too hard," he said sarcastically.

"Do you love her? You seem to be quite fond of each other," Meg announced, appearing in the door. "Or are you just being a total horndog like usual? Ann told us _alllll _about your 'little problem' at the dance studio," she reminded him.

He didn't think he'd ever live that one down. "Like Carl's never had that problem with i you? /i Come on, the rest of you are married and have kids already," he complained. Sometimes his sisters acted far too 'holier than thou' for his taste, just because he was divorced.

"Okay, okay…. You got us. You know we're only sleeping in the same room with her to keep you out," Annie teased. "But was that a 'yes, I love her and would like to spend eternity with a crooked back just so I can bend down to reach her', or not?"

Chad shook his head, grinning. "Yeah, but without that whole 'crooked back' thing." He looked around before continuing. "Actually, I was thinking of buying her something."

"A ring?" the rest of them chorused loudly, and he waved his hands wildly to shut them up.

"_No,_ not a ring!" He leaned in closer, keeping an eye on the staircase. "I was thinking…"

"That's always dangerous," Becca laughed.

"Do you want to know what it is, or do you want me to come over there and stick you in the refrigerator like I did that time when you were twelve?" Chad snapped. Their mother intervened with a "that's enough, all four of you!" just as Andrea came back down, so he contented himself with glaring at his little sister while Andrea looked around the kitchen, plainly wondering why everyone had fallen silent at her appearance.

"Left! Go left! No…. your _other_ left," Andrea yelled, throwing the ball and scooting out of the way just as a very determined in-law came charging at her. Ahead, Rebecca caught the football and ducked to avoid her husband's grab and Andrea cheered her on, running to catch up. A grip on the back of her shirt made her slow down and she slapped at her blatantly cheating boyfriend's hold. "Hey! Interference!"

"Whatcha gonna do about it, little girl?" Chad teased, still pulling her backward so that she couldn't reach the ball. His father shook his head from the sidelines, and she twisted free of Chad's hold with a dig in the ribs. He caught the football next and headed towards his team's goal post (a set of lawn chairs) and Andrea quickly leaped onto his back to try to slow him down. "Like a feather," Chad boasted.

Rebecca and Megan converged upon him and Annie wrapped her arms around a muscular shin. "Now you've got three more feathers," Andrea said gleefully. Chad dragged them across the lawn, grunting and determined while his teammates simply pointed and laughed instead of helping.

Between the four of them, they managed to knock him to his hands and knees, but he simply tucked the football securely in the crook of an elbow and pulled himself along by grabbing handfuls of grass. "Must not…let...the puny…ones….win," he panted, and Andrea bounced on his back to try to force him flat on the ground while the rest of the family cheered her efforts loudly. Chad finally collapsed onto his face and she was starting to climb off him when he reared up to knock her off balance, reaching to plant the ball on the ground between the lawn chairs. "I reign supreme," he announced loudly, and she pounced on him again. "Hey! Unnecessary roughness!"

"Deal with it, Sparky."

On the next play, he simply scooped her up in his arms as soon as she got possession of the ball and ran with her to the lawn chairs, proclaiming his victory amid loud cries of foul play. "She still had the ball, it doesn't count," Andrew yelled.

"The hell? You're on _my_ team!" Chad yelled back.

Megan pushed at his arm playfully. "Not anymore, Sasquatch. Go shave off some of that chest hair – you could braid that stuff."

"Go bake a _pie_, Suzie Homemaker," Chad taunted. "You couldn't get a touchdown if it was handed to you on a plate!"

"Oh no you _didn't_…!"

"Just go pop out a few more kids, since that's what you're best at – leave the football to the professionals," he grinned, fending off a kick.

Andrea shook her head as the rest of them launched into what was probably the World Championship of Trash Talk and darted in to grab the football from Andrew's hand, running to her team's goal posts (they had two mini-kegs of beer) for a touchdown. Chad loped over, apparently aligning himself with her team and they went into another play – unfortunately now that he was on the opposing team, he and Andrew were more concerned with smashing into each other than actually winning. She considered calling a halt to the whole thing the third time Chad was slammed to the ground so hard it knocked the wind from him, but he didn't seem to mind so she figured she'd let it go. After all, they'd grown up together and were used to knocking each other senseless.

She saw more observers at the edge of the 'playing field' as they ran around making up their own rules, but thought nothing of it until after her celebratory dance in the end zone and she'd leaped into Chad's arms. Glancing over, still laughing and hanging around Chad's neck, she finally noticed the big black truck that could only be owned by one person. What was i he /i doing here, though? Andrea looked around and saw Rita and Hopper standing by Laurel and James, and tapped on Chad's chest to get his attention. "What are they doing here? I thought it was a family dinner," she asked as he set her down.

Chad hoisted her up onto his back for the next play. "I dunno – last year, Mom invited Rita over a couple times but she never showed up. Probably figures that since she's still got the last name, she's still one of the family. Don't worry about it."

She pressed her lips against the side of his face in a smacking kiss that made him laugh. "I'm not worried, Sarge. Not anymore."

After the game broke up, Chad carried her over to where they'd set up tables outside for dinner and greeted the newcomers politely, making it plain that he'd tolerate no disparaging remarks about their relationship by eyeing Hopper warningly. Amazingly, the two men were able to be civil to each other during dinner and Andrea struck up a conversation with her partner to keep him occupied. Hopper seemed surprised at how much at ease she was with Chad's family and by how friendly they were towards him, considering that he was now dating Rita. Thankfully the pair left soon after dinner was over with the excuse that Rita's mother wanted them to come over the following day, and Andrea let out a sigh of relief as the taillights of Hopper's truck disappeared in the distance. "What's with you? You invite them?" Chad asked Laurel with a frown.

"I told her that she was always welcome," his mother chastised. "I didn't think she'd bring Brett with her, though. I hope it wasn't too awkward."

"No, it was great, Mom. I can't even get a weekend off with my family without him showing up acting like he's got nothing to be ashamed about," Chad sighed, standing up to walk out on the lawn.

Andrea made her excuses and trailed after him. "I thought you said there was nothing to worry about?"

Somewhere beside her in the dark, Chad sighed again. "That's what I thought." He reached for her and pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her. "Every time I think I'm okay with it, he shows up and… I don't love her anymore, Andy. There's just some things you don't do."

"I know." She cuddled close, resting her head on his powerful chest and closing her eyes to listen to the slow beating of his heart. "Want to sit down and look at the stars or something?" she tried, wanting to help him out of his frustration.

She felt his words as a rumble against her ear. "Okay."

Chad sat down and leaned back on an elbow, guiding her down to lean against him while he stroked her hair and pointed out constellations. She knew he was in a better frame of mind when he started to make up silly names for groups of stars and Andrea snuggled against her sergeant, starting to nod off as he claimed that he could show her how to find the Pink Cow constellation. "Whatever you say, Sarge," she murmured sleepily.

tbc…


	19. Chapter 19

Chad lifted the riot helmet from his head and scrubbed a hand through his sweat-dampened hair as he walked over to Ramiro, who was giving directions to a few members of First Team. "Lipson and Santos are bringing the truck around," he reported, squinting in the glare of the mid-afternoon sun. "We picked up another two trying to sneak around back."

"Good work, Shelten – get them processed."

He glanced over at the approaching truck. "Right away, Lieutenant…" Santos moved into the back to keep an eye on the soon-to-be jailbirds and Chad stripped off his flak jacket as he climbed in the truck. "Let's get them downtown," he sighed tiredly.

"Too much running?" Lipson said sympathetically.

"Too much _heat_," he replied with a shake of his head. "It's days like these that I really miss the air conditioning in my old office."

She smirked over at him. "And here I thought you'd miss having everyone's careers in your hands."

He grinned back. "That, too." Chad checked his watch suddenly, remembering that he was meeting Andrea for dinner in an hour.

"Hot date tonight?"

"More like a lukewarm get-together," he joked as they pulled into the precinct's garage. There were a handful of officers waiting to relieve them of their burdens, so he sent the others off as soon as the transfer was made – Santos was eager to see his wife, who was apparently ready to give birth any day now. Chad headed off to shower and change, coming back to file the SWAT arrest reports while he waited for Andrea's call. The rest of the team were slowly returning, and he frowned at his watch. She was never this late… she probably had a case or something. Minutes became an hour, and he was just reaching for his phone when it rang. "Shelten," he answered, trying not to sound too disappointed that it wasn't her.

"Sergeant? It's Haight. You might want to come down to the hospital. Detective Battle-"

He sat up straight. "_What? _"

"Apparently she was in an accident, and-"

"I'll be right there," he interrupted, feeling the blood drain from his face. Chad was halfway to his car when he realized that the rest of the team was following him. "Where do you think you're going?" he snapped, worry sharpening his tone.

"We're going with you," Williams insisted. "Um… where exactly were you headed, again?"

Chad kept walking, trying to remain calm. "Hospital." He ignored some of the indrawn breaths and reached for the door handle of his car when Lipson snatched the keys from his hand.

"We'll take you, Sir."

Two hours later, he was lifting a slightly groggy Narcotics Detective into the backseat of his SUV while Hawkins held the door open and the rest of the team hovered in the background. Chad felt extremely relieved that Andrea was okay and somewhat embarrassed that he hadn't been as nice to the others as he should have been, considering that they'd dropped everything to come along with him as soon as they'd seen how upset he was. He turned back to them and started to apologize. "Look, I'm sorry about…"

"No problem, Big Dog," Hawkins grinned. "See ya." The others said their goodbyes, motioning 'tough luck' to Andrea - who was scowling down at the cast on her leg angrily - as they left. Rita came up to give him her prescriptions and to let him know what exactly he'd have to help her out with while she healed, telling him that he'd need to bring her back in to have her leg checked out.

Chad got in the car and looked over his shoulder at her. "Can you hang on until I get your pain meds, baby? I'll make sure not to jostle you or anything." She nodded, still woozy from the drugs fed through her IV. "Where do you want me to take you after that?"

"Yours," she said in a small voice. "Sorry we can't go out tomorrow night."

"Don't worry about that, Andy…there'll be other nights," he soothed, pulling into the street carefully and driving to the nearest drug store. 

Chad carried her inside, laying her on the bed gently with a kiss to her forehead. "Be right back." She tried to rouse herself enough to moan in complaint and reach for him, but he slipped from the room quickly and was back in a handful of minutes with the whatever-it-was that he'd bought at the drug store. "I'm going to put your meds over here where you can reach them, okay?" He set down a few small bottles of pills next to a cup of ice water, and crouched on the floor next to the bed to reach for her hand. "So. In reverse, huh, Crackhead?"

She sighed, settling back against the pillows. "Yeah, can you believe it?" Her fingers tightened reflexively around his when he stood. "Don't go."

"I'm just going to get some more pillows for your leg – try to get some rest." Andrea fought against sleep until he came back with the promised pillows and placed them beneath her plaster encased leg, but she felt drowsiness overtaking her as Chad turned down the lights and undressed in the darkness. When she felt the bed dip beneath his weight and the back of his hand stroked her cheek lovingly, Andrea finally allowed herself to sleep.

The sound of Chad's phone ringing pulled her into wakefulness and she grunted in protest. It had only been minutes since she closed her eyes... then she realized that the sun was filtering through the shades in the bedroom. "What time is it?" she groaned. Her leg started throbbing in complaint as soon as she tried to move it.

Chad immediately crossed around to her side of the bed and reached for her medicine. "Still early. What's your pleasure – Vicodin or Ibuprofen?"

"I think it's gonna be a Vicodin day," she sighed, pulling a pillow over her face. Moments later she squinted up at him, taking in his half-buttoned uniform shirt and damp hair. "I guess you're leaving for work."

"Yeah." Chad stroked her hair back from her forehead. "Listen, Annie's on her way over – she'll stay with you until I get home, okay?"

"I don't need-"

"Yes, you do. Don't argue with me; I know what's best," he teased. "Now take your medicine, young lady."

"I need a shower," she warned, narrowing her eyes at him after she swallowed the pill. "I can't take a shower if you're not here, so it's your fault if I smell."

The corners of his mouth twitched. "I'll keep that in mind. Maybe I'll ask Ann to just hose you off in the front yard." Chad bent to kiss her lips. "But if you're a good little Narc, I'll give you a sponge bath when I get back."

The medicine started to kick in and she sighed in relief. "Are we talking boring sponge bath, or naughty sponge bath?"

Chad grinned. "Nasty, naughty, appalling and wrong on many different _levels_ sponge bath. But that's only if you behave yourself around my little sister today….oh, here she is now. I suspect Ann's brought you something disgusting to eat, since she has the same bad habits you do. Oh, and if she asks where the wine is – don't tell her." He bent to kiss her again. "Love you."

"I love me too, Sarge."

"Remember – behave today," he warned, waggling a finger at her on his way out. She heard him greet his sister, and moments later Annie stuck her head through the door as Chad drove off.

"Hey, Andrea!" The small dark-haired woman held up a large book. "Look what I brought you."

Andrea frowned. "A book?" She wasn't so sure about spending all this time alone with the other woman, despite having gotten along fine with her when they'd been at his parents house a few weeks ago.

"Something even better; it's a photo album full of Chad's baby pictures!" Ann held up another bag. "And biscuits with bacon," she tempted with a grin.

Vicodin, bacon, and Chad's baby pictures? Things were looking up. 

After pulling on the rope and testing its strength, Chad nodded to Lipson and the smaller woman bit her lip nervously as she stepped over the edge. "Silly of me to be scared of this, huh?" she asked sheepishly.

"Hey, don't worry about it," he reassured her. "You should have seen me when it was my first time going down a building. Just try not to look down too much – we've got you."

"Don't think you've ever been scared a day in your life, Sergeant." She swallowed and began to lower herself down the side as Chad swung down beside her.

He kept her attention focused on her task so that she wouldn't start to panic when they were too far down to easily get her inside through one of the windows. "Easy, a little more slack… that's it… come on, Faith," he encouraged when she faltered. "Okay, now you'll need to push off…"

"I don't want to push off," she protested.

"To get to that bank of windows down there, you do." He managed to cajole her into moving by promising that he wouldn't make her repeat the exercise, and she finally pushed off and rappelled across and down to the nearest window where another woman was waiting to help her inside. Chad followed and slid inside, unclipping the rope from his safety harness and rolling his shoulders to relieve the stiffness. "See? You did just fine."

The other SWAT officer slumped against the wall in exaggerated relief. "Yeah, I guess I did." Hawkins came over to tease Lipson about her performance in a poorly-disguised attempt at flirtation, and Ramiro stopped by for progress reports.

Apparently since he'd handled Lipson's fear of heights so adroitly, he was assigned as her climbing partner until she was seasoned enough to handle being paired with any of the other team members. "How's Andrea?" Ramiro asked finally, dismissing the others with a wave of his hand. "I heard she was laid up by an accident while she and her partner were in pursuit of a suspect. Tell her we'll look forward to seeing her at the dinner next week, cast or no."

Chad nodded absently as he unbuckled his harness and stowed his gear. "I'll do that – we have any warrants to serve today, or…?"

SWAT's Officer-in-charge clapped him on the shoulder. "Nothing we can't handle – now, when Myra broke her tailbone two years ago, she was very appreciative of gifts of chocolate," Ramiro winked. "Why don't you get on that to spare yourself some grief? A woman in pain is a man's headache waiting to happen."

_It's no wonder you're on your third wife if that's the way you see it_, Chad thought with a shake of his head. The things that man came up with… but he had to admit the 'chocolate' idea had its merits. He picked up some flowers as well as a selection of candy he thought she'd like, and walked in the door in time to hear Andrea laughing fit to kill over something. Unfortunately, the 'something' that amused her to such a degree was photos of himself in middle school and he scowled at Annie, who grinned at him. "Did you make a special trip to get those from Mom when I called you last night?" he asked.

"You better believe it, Sergeant Shaggy," she laughed, pointing to a photo that made Andrea start giggling even harder. "Look at that mop of curly hair! Even my _pubic_ hair isn't that"-

"We don't want to hear about that," Chad interrupted, feeling slightly ill. "Don't let the door hit you on your way out, yeah?"

Andrea was still paging through the album avidly, and hadn't even looked up to greet him. "Don't be mean, Sarge."

"Okay, okay…. I'll go. You're welcome, by the way," Annie hinted, digging him in the ribs and tilting her head.

He took the unsubtle hint and bent to kiss her cheek. "Thank you, Ann." She left after swiping some of the chocolate he'd brought for Andrea, and he settled down beside her on the couch. "How're you feeling?"

Andrea finally set aside the photo album and held out her arms to him. "Better, now you're here." He kissed her softly and made her laugh, crinkling her nose at him cutely when he sniffed her neck loudly. "Do I still get a naughty sponge bath?"

"Well, I don't know… your laughing at my pictures has hurt my feelings. I don't think my self-esteem can handle such a blow." Chad sighed heavily. "And to think I brought you chocolate, flowers, and a pair of crutches."

She perked up immediately. "Oooh, crutches!"

"Do you feel up to trying them out?"

Andrea nodded vigorously. "This means I can chase you around and hit you with them."

"…well, _that_ really convinces me that you should have them. Hungry?" She nodded again, so he picked her up and carried her into the kitchen to make dinner while she watched and offered culinary advice of the sort that ultimately made him start flicking the dish towel at her. When Andrea was resting against his chest contentedly after they ate and he'd made sure she took her pain medicine, he kissed her temple. "Rita called me today."

"Really? Why?"

Chad slid his arms around her, dropping his head to nuzzle at her neck. "She wanted to make sure I brought you in on Monday to have your cast looked at – seems like if you're doing better, you can go back to work. I'm sure Graves won't mind your presence, even if you're just doing desk work." She made a faint noise of disgust and he smiled into her hair, knowing how much she hated paperwork. "She also wanted to apologize." He kissed the side of her neck and she hummed with pleasure, arching back against him as well as the unwieldy cast would allow. "Andy, do you want…?"

"Mmm-_hmmmm_." 

He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, kicking the door shut as he laid her gently on the bed; Andrea struggled out of her clothes as best she could, letting him help her slide her pajama bottoms from her legs before he stripped his uniform off. "You've got to let me know if I jostle your leg too much," he warned as he stretched out over her carefully.

"Sure thing, Sarge. I'll ju - _ohhhhhh_…" Andrea wrapped her arms around his neck as he pushed into her, lifting her right leg up around his waist and moaning sweetly in his ear. He made love to her gently, mindful of her injury until she started to claw at his back and urge him on in such vulgar terms that he forgot himself, driving into her so hard that the bed frame shook. She came screaming, her muscles clamping down on him so hard that he followed her after a few more thrusts, gasping her name.

Chad sighed, shifting slightly. "Did I hurt you? I'm sorry…"

Andrea's small hands stroked his sides lovingly. "Not at all, sweetie. Not at all…mmm, that was nice," she murmured sleepily. "Think you like it when I talk dirty to you."

He laughed, moving off to the side and readjusting her plaster-encased leg. "It is rather… inspiring," he admitted. Settling back down beside her, he brushed his lips against hers. "Want me to carry you anywhere?"

"Bathroom?"

"You got it," he said cheerfully, scooping her up.

Later after all the lights had been turned off, Chad propped himself up on an elbow and told her about his day as he traced circles on the back of her hand. "So, you're paired with Faith until she's more confident, is that it? I'd better not hear that you're running off into the sunset with her," she threatened with a mock-scowl.

Chad laughed and tapped the end of her nose with a finger. "That isn't anything you have to worry about. Like it or not, I plan on being disgustingly faithful."

Andrea smiled over at him. "I know… but it's nice to hear you say it. 'Night."

"If you'd like, I can record that statement for you to set as your ring tone," he offered as he turned out the light.

"Sergeant Shelten?"

"Yes, Detective Battle?"

"Go to sleep."

Tbc….


	20. Chapter 20

Fucker

Asshole

Cheap whore

"Ready to go?" Chad stuck his head through the door and looked around for Andrea. He heard her yell issuing from the direction of the bedroom, so settled on the arm of the couch to wait while she dressed and came hopping out on her good leg. "You know, that's sort of why I brought you those crutches," he teased, watching her jump around looking for her shoes.

She scowled over at him. "I know, but I want to walk!"

"You call that walking?" he leaned over to pick up her shoes. "I'm guessing these are what you were looking for…" Andrea swiped them from his hand irritably, but allowed him to tuck her against his body as she tried to bend to put one of them on. She fooled around a few minutes more until he tapped his watch and moved to simply haul her out to the car when she showed no signs of being ready to leave. "Let's _go_, Battle – I've got things to destroy, people to terrify."

Andrea stuck her tongue out at him childishly, but obediently grabbed her crutches and followed him out the door. "I can't wait to get this thing off so I can walk properly," she grumbled as he lifted her into the car and buckled her in. "I can do that myself, Granny!"

Chad just shook his head and smiled – she'd been complaining about her cast for weeks now and he just let her irritability slide off him. "I know you can."

"So why did you do it?"

"Because I love you."

"Oh." Andrea fell silent when he started the car, and he felt her eyes on him as he drove to the hospital. Her arms came around his neck, immediately contrite when he came around to lift her from her seat. "I haven't been that nice; I'm sorry."

He smoothed a hand down her back. "It's okay, I don't mind when you're cranky."

"Really?"

"That doesn't mean you can be cranky 24/7, though… I _do_ need a smile every once in a while."

Andrea laughed, then gave him a big goofy grin. "Like this?"

Chad bent down to kiss her. "Like that." He handed her the crutches with one last rumple of her curls and smiled. "Let's go get you walking again, Hop-along…ouch! What did I tell you about detectives hitting sergeants with crutches?"

"That it was hilarious and I should do it more often?" she said helpfully.

"Not exactly. Get in there," and he gave her a playful push towards the doors.

He lounged against the door, ever-watchful as the nurse removed Andrea's cast. "Just be sure to take it easy – well, as easy as you can," the other woman said, smiling at both of them in such a way that Chad wondered what tales Rita had been spreading about them. Well, it didn't matter anymore.

The nurse left and he held out his hand to Andrea. "Let's go; I don't like hospitals." She hopped down from the exam table and ignored his outstretched hand in favor of snuggling against his side as they walked out the doors.

"Do you know what time you'll be home tonight?" she asked softly as he stopped the car in front of the Central Community Station and turned to her.

"Not sure – we've got some warrants to serve…"

She leaned over to kiss him. "You can come spend the night at mine, if you want – I'll even cook for you."

Chad snorted. "_I'll_ cook. Now get out of here; I've got manly tasks to accomplish," he teased. Andrea gave him a parting nuzzle and got out of the car, still limping slightly as she got used to walking again.

The first thing she did when she got home from work – Graves had still given her piles of paperwork to wade through even though her cast was off and she was actually grateful – was to head straight to the medicine cabinet and dig out some aspirin to take care of the dull ache in her leg. Chad had called minutes ago to tell her that he would be later than expected because he had to pick up food and spare clothing, so she ran a hot bath and sank into it gratefully. After washing herself tiredly, she leaned back and closed her eyes after running some more hot water.

She wasn't aware of dozing off, but when she opened her eyes next she noticed that the shades in the bathroom window had been pulled down and three small candles she kept on the side of the tub had been lit. Even the water was still warm. "Chad?" she asked, sitting up and looking towards the open door.

The big sergeant's frame filled the doorway moments later. "Hi. Feeling any better?" Chad came in to kneel at the side of the tub, tapping his finger on the end of her nose lovingly. "Maria said she stopped by to see you and it looked like you were having a rough day."

"Yeah, I've had better," she joked. "Been here long?"

He winked. "Enough to get an eyeful of some naked lady in your bathtub."

"You, sir, are a rogue through and through," she laughed, holding up a hand for him to help her up. Chad pulled her to her feet and held out a towel, stroking his fingers across her cheek – they smelled vaguely like garlic, and that reminded her about his earlier promise. "Is there food? You can't spend the night if you didn't make food like you _said_ you would."

Chad pretended to be taken aback. "No, I actually meant that I would cook for myself – I don't have anything for you! You mean, I have to go back to my cold, lonely bed with only Meredith for company?" he sounded horrified.

She pretended to consider it. "Well…"

"…it's a good thing I have enough leftover, then," he smiled.

They'd finished eating and were splashing each other while they did the dishes when an unexpected knock on the door made her wriggle out of Chad's embrace. "I wonder who that is…" He snapped the dishtowel at her and went back to drying the plates, and she walked to answer the door; she immediately wished she hadn't. "Eddie, what are you doing here?"

Her ex pushed past her, running his hands through his hair agitatedly – she wondered if he was high again. "Andrea, you gotta help me."

"We're done, remember?" She folded her arms across her chest. "Look, you can't come around here anymore."

Eddie's eyes narrowed at her. "Why? You got someone here? Don't tell me you're serious about that _chingado_ Shelten."

"It's none of your business who I…" Andrea sighed. "Just leave, Eddie."

Chad came from the kitchen, dishtowel in hand. "Everything okay in here?" He leaned against the doorway and rested a challenging stare on the other man, clenching his fists and making his biceps swell. His posturing might have been funny if she hadn't seen the way her ex was looking back at Chad.

"Yeah, it's fine…Eddie was just leaving."

Eddie glared at Chad, then at her. "I'm not done with you – we'll talk tomorrow."

"You'll stay away from her, is what you'll do," Chad interrupted calmly.

"Hey, _rulacho;_ this ain't your business. Go find someone else to impress, yeah?"

Andrea shook her head, getting more worried by the minute at the amount of aggression that Eddie was putting out… he had to be more drugged up than usual, to try to take on Chad. "Get out of here, Eddie – you're not welcome here anymore."

"_Puta barata_," Eddie hissed, lunging at her.

Chad was on him as soon as the other man moved, grabbing both ends of the dishtowel and throwing it over Eddie's head. The big man twisted it like a garrotte and pulled Eddie away from her, forcing him to the floor and placing a knee in the small of Eddie's back as he yanked on both ends of the towel. "Now, that wasn't a very nice thing to do," Chad said conversationally; Eddie pawed the air wildly as he tried to breathe. "You come in a woman's house uninvited, insult her, and try to attack her. I'm guessing that your mother never taught you manners." He pulled on the towel again, harder. "Apologize."

"Just throw him out," Andrea began, raising her hand – all she needed was for Chad to get too carried away and snap Eddie's neck right there in the living room. She'd never seen Chad like this, and it was more than slightly frightening; even his confrontation with Hopper hadn't brought out…whatever side of him this was.

"No, he's going to apologize," Chad growled, jerking the towel once more. Eddie flailed as Chad pressed a knee harder into his back, forcing more air from his lungs before releasing him to flop down on the floor. He wheezed out something, and Chad picked him up by the hair to force him to look at Andrea. "What was that? She didn't hear you."

The towel tightening around his neck again, Eddie decided to give in – whatever drug he'd been high on had probably been frightened right out of him, Andrea decided. "S-s-sorry," Eddie coughed.

Chad released his hold on the smaller man and dragged him to the door to push him outside. "Next time I'll break your scrawny little neck," he snarled.

He turned from the door to find Andrea pale and wide-eyed. "You let me know if he tries to find you tomorrow," Chad growled, still pissed beyond belief that Reyes had dared to approach her again… he'd probably wanted more money for his habit or something. The evening was pretty much spoiled now, but maybe they could salvage what was left of it. He flipped the door lock and made to go back in the kitchen to finish drying the dishes, but stopped dead as Andrea backed away from him. "Andy? What's-" Chad reached out to touch her reassuringly, and she shrank away.

"Look, I'm kind of tired so I think – _don't touch me!_" she yelled as he tried to reach out for her again.

Chad snatched his hand back as if burned. "What's wrong? Andy?" Why was she acting like this? He'd gotten rid of Eddie like she'd tried to do… but now she was acting like she was afraid of him or something. She backed up further, looking uncomfortable, and it slowly dawned on him that she was reacting to the force he'd used against her ex. But what was he supposed to do? "I didn't mean to-"

"You could've _killed_ him, Chad!"

"And why do you care so much about it?" he flared, not knowing what he was supposed to do to fix this and saying the first thing that came to mind. "People _threatened_ you on account of that asshole, Andrea – he was going after you! Think I was just going to stand here and let him attack the woman I love?" Chad shook his head, frustrated. What was he supposed to _do?_ "I'm going to finish the dishes and then I'm going to leave, okay?"

He strode past her and tried to resist the urge to break something as he picked up a clean towel. Breathing deeply, Chad tried to calm down enough to focus on getting done and getting out of there – it had all seemed so simple when he'd been still single – when he reached his left hand down into the sink and sliced one of his fingers on a steak knife hidden beneath the dishwater.

Andrea had trailed after him into the kitchen and jumped in surprise as he swore angrily and jerked his bleeding hand from the water. "God_damn_it!"

"Let me see," and she was there to take his hand in both of hers and peer down at it. "Come here, I've got band-aids in the bathroom." Andrea made him sit on the edge of the bathtub as she pulled a first aid kit from underneath the sink and bandaged up his finger. "It's not that deep so it should heal in a few days since you're right handed," she assured him.

"Thanks. I'd better go," he reminded her.

Strangely enough, she hung onto his wrist when he tried to pull his hand from her grasp. "You…you don't have to."

Chad sighed, unable to deal with any more mixed signals or whatever the hell he was dealing with here. "The way you didn't want me near you pretty much says that yes, I do." He didn't want to leave, but…

Andrea slowly uncurled her fingers from his hand, biting her lip as she looked up at him through big brown eyes that were starting to get all misty. "No. Stay," she said firmly, like he was a dog she was training.

He reached up a hand to touch the side of her face gently. "I'm sorry if I upset you, but I'd never hurt you – please believe that."

"I know you wouldn't, I just… it was surprising, that was all." She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. "You can be one scary mother sometimes, you know that?"

"Sorry."

"Me too." Andrea flung herself at him and Chad wrapped her up in his arms, hoping that all their future arguments could be resolved by something as stupid as getting sliced up by a steak knife in the sink. "Can we go to bed now?" she asked anxiously.

Well, that was one olive branch he didn't mind taking.

tbc…


	21. Chapter 21

Andrea nestled sleepily against Chad after nearly two hours of intense lovemaking, listening to his breathing slow and even out into the steady rhythm of sleep. Her eyelids grew heavy and began to close when the hair on the back of her beck began to lift and she was suddenly certain that she was being watched – that _they_ were being watched. Andrea extricated herself from Chad's arms and sat up to look around, but nothing moved in the shadows of the bedroom… had she simply imagined it? "Chad? Chad, wake up," she murmured, putting a hand on his chest.

"What's going on?" he yawned.

"I think there's someone here."

Chad reached past her to flip on the light, and they both squinted in the sudden brightness. "I don't see anyone," he said dubiously. "Are you sure? Did you see anything?"

She shook her head, unconsciously drawing the covers up to her chin. "I just got that _feeling_, you know? Maybe I'm just being paranoid because of Eddie showing up earlier." Andrea bit her lip, not having meant to mention her ex-boyfriend while she was in bed with Chad… they'd worked out their differences about that particular topic of discussion in a most satisfactory manner, and she didn't want the return of tension between them. "I mean, it could be Second Team again but… somehow I don't think so."

To his credit, Chad didn't look particularly bothered by it. "He doesn't have a key, though, does he?"

"No, I made him give it back when I hauled him to rehab that last time."

The big man frowned thoughtfully as he rolled to his side to face her. "Keys can be copied. I'll look around, okay? If you said you thought someone was here, I believe you. You're not the type of person who jumps at every shadow." Chad got out of the bed and pulled on a nearby pair of track pants– ever since some of the SWAT members had decided to try and play a joke on him in the middle of the night and he'd run out stark naked with his gun, she'd insisted upon him covering up when he wasn't in her bedroom. Of course, he was past the hazing simply because the rest of the team had been just too embarrassed at the sight of their sergeant in his all-together….not that Chad had even batted an eye when discovering half of the SWAT team surrounding him in Andrea's kitchen, and him without so much as a stitch of clothing on.

He left to look through the rest of the house, and was back in minutes to shake his head negatively at her. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her – it'd happened before, after all. Andrea mentioned this aloud, feeling slightly foolish at having rousted him out of bed. "Hey, don't worry about it – I'll just tell everyone else that it's your fault I can't keep my eyes open," he grinned, taking the pants back off and climbing back into bed to turn off the light. "Maybe I'll even give them some details if they ask."

"That'll be the last thing you ever do, I assure you," she warned, poking him in the side and feeling his lips curve in a smile against the bare skin of her shoulder when he rolled over to envelop her in his embrace.

"Promises, promises, Battle."

She thought of calling to get the locks changed as she woke up in the morning and remembered what had happened, but soon forgot it when Chad began yelling at her to see if she knew where his gloves were. He found them and ran off, nearly making himself late by staying to kiss her until she had to remind him that he needed to go to work. Then Hopper was phoning her about something, and all thoughts of calling the locksmith went completely from her head.

The feeling of being watched returned the next day when she was out shopping after work, but whenever she turned to see who might be looking at her she didn't see anyone and didn't mention it to Chad. Andrea knew he suspected something was wrong after she turned away his advances for the second time in as many days, but didn't say anything beyond suggesting that they sleep at his place if she didn't feel comfortable at hers.

He'd definitely been in a better mood. Andrea wouldn't even let him move beyond kissing her now, when she used to literally jump him as soon as the door was closed. She hadn't even cared if the shades were open or closed. At least she'd taken him up on his offer to stay at his house, but even there it was like fucking someone with ADD; every five seconds she'd break him out of the mood by asking if he'd heard something, or if he'd seen what _she'd_ seen. After a week of having to roll off her because she wouldn't relax enough to let him touch her, his frustration was nearing the point where they were constantly on edge around each other and he was contemplating telling her that they needed to spend some time apart.

Chad believed that she'd _thought_ she'd seen something, but whenever he looked around for whatever the hell it was, he came up with nothing. Belief only took you so far; past that point was paranoia. Of course they'd fought on _that_ point, just like they did with everything else these days, and he'd said some things he wasn't proud of. She was still giving him the cold shoulder – he hadn't known you could ignore someone who slept in the same bed and shared your personal space. It wasn't even her house!

He rolled his shoulders back to stretch, cracking his neck as he frowned up at the LAPD seal on the building he used to work in. Damn it, he'd served countless high-risk warrants and rappelled down buildings on a regular basis. He should be able to handle apologizing to a woman less than a quarter of his size. _Hopper had better not be there, or I'll stuff his ass in the waste basket_, Chad thought sourly. Williams had offered to be his wingman, knowing that Andrea and he hadn't been on the best terms this past week, but he'd turned his friend down. It'd be all he needed, to get word of his groveling spread around the office on Sixth Street.

Detective Santos was talking to one of the patrolmen as he walked in the doors, but broke off her conversation as soon as she saw him. "Chad!"

"Hey, Maria," he greeted ruefully, knowing that Paul had probably told her why he was there. "I thought you were on leave?"

The dark-haired woman patted her stomach. "Next week, I think." Her gaze sharpened. "Andrea is just about ready to skin you alive, señor."

Chad sighed gustily. "Does everyone know?"

"That you're being an insensitive, uncaring, nasty-"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" He ran his hand through his hair. "Have you seen her today?"

Maria smirked. "She's at her desk, planning your murder."

He tried for a joke. "Well, that's lovely news. I'll just run on in and you send up the casket, how's that sound?" When she did nothing but fold her arms and stare up at him, he cleared his throat and motioned to the elevator. "Yeah… I'll be going now…"

Chad strode down the hall towards Narcotics after stopping by the vending machine for something that might persuade her not to be angry at him, and nodded to Graves as he walked in. He did a double-take at the throat cutting motion the Lieutenant aimed at him_. Jesus._ Circling wide around her desk so that she didn't see him, he came up behind her and dropped the Twinkie directly onto the file she was looking at. "What the…? Chad? I'm working," she snapped. "What do you want?"

Well, he guessed this was better than being ignored…not by much, though. "It's a peace offering. I have another one in case I have to throw it at you to escape," Chad said. "I'm told the filling has diverted many a homicidal maniac."

"What do you _want?_"

He fought the urge to snap back at her; it wouldn't help and anyway, he was supposed to be the repentant one here. "I just came to see how you were today…"

"I'm fine," she scowled.

"…and to say that I was sorry," he finished, shifting from foot to foot anxiously. He'd never been good at this 'please forgive me' stuff. "I didn't mean to say, um, what I said. So, uh, I'm sorry."

Somewhere during this recital, Hopper had come back from a coffee run. Damn it. "Chad? What're you doing here? Harassing my partner?"

_His_ partner? Who did that prick think he was? "Talking to _my_ girlfriend," Chad replied, then felt like beating the smirk right off of Hopper's face as the other man looked at Andrea. "Look, it's kinda private so why don't you just go somewhere else and stay there?"

Oddly enough, Andrea started to smile at him. "We'll be right back, Hopper." Standing, she grabbed Chad's arm and pulled him after her into a nearby office, shutting the door and closing the blinds against curious eyes.

"Um, Andy? What's-" nothing prepared him for suddenly having an armful of Detective, and he automatically slid his arms about her to keep her from falling.

"That's the first time you've called me 'your' anything," she said, pressing her lips to his. "But if you ever get an attitude like that with me again, I'll take you down."

"I guess it's a deal, then."

Chad ran his hands down her hips, hooking her panties with his fingers and drawing them off as he pressed his lips to her skin. Andrea threaded her fingers through his hair when he dipped his head to run his tongue over her folds, murmuring how sweet she tasted. They should fight more often, if this is what happened when he came to apologize.

She arched from the bed as Chad began to thrust his fingers inside her, working them in and out while she shuddered and cried his name. As her orgasm approached, she felt the index finger of his left hand slide between her legs and press into her nether entrance slowly. "Chad? What are you…_oh, my God!_" Andrea twisted and writhed as he drove her to a climax so intense she couldn't even see straight, gripping the sheets of the bed and causing them to rip slightly. When she finally came down from her high, she felt Chad's fingers slip from her body and looked down to see him smirking up at her. "You look pleased with yourself," she sighed, placing a hand on his head.

He grinned. "Oh, I am. Believe me, I am." Chad crawled up her body and covered her mouth in a kiss while he nudged her thighs apart with a knee and lowered himself between her legs. Her eyes fluttered closed as his cock filled her and he began to move inside, making love to her slowly. "Turn over," he whispered finally, pulling out.

Andrea obediently turned onto her stomach and began to raise herself on her arms when he placed a large hand on the small of her back and pushed her back down to the mattress. Then her legs were spread apart once more and he was shoving inside her at an angle that would have forced her off the bed completely if Chad hadn't been pressing her down and holding her still. She could barely breathe, and she couldn't have cared less as he pumped his hips, grunting. Trapped beneath him, all she could do was to hold on as he fucked her into the mattress. "Yes, yesyesyes," she babbled, her fingers locking around his wrists and trying to get enough leverage so that she could shove back against him. Chad shifted his weight back onto his knees and held her hips in place, his unsteady groans signaling the approach of his own release. "I-I'm close," she managed to wail.

Chad picked up speed and just as the nearly unbearable pleasure washed over her, he cried out above her and came, pressing her down in the blankets. Her sergeant collapsed atop her, breathing deeply before he rolled to one side to encircle her with one arm. "Nice," he sighed.

Andrea grinned. "You can say that ag-" Movement off to one side caught her attention and she yelped in shock and anger to see Eddie standing there with a gun in his hand. Chad shoved a hand beneath his pillow and had a gun of his own pointed at the intruder before she could blink.

"Don't stop just 'cause I'm here," Eddie laughed, waving his gun around. Andrea grabbed the corner of a sheet and made to cover herself when he raised his weapon to point it at her. "Why you so shy now, huh?" He staggered slightly as he tried to get a better look at her body – Andrea thought he must be so high, he didn't know which end was up. "You're one kinky _puta_; you never did that with me."

The sharp sound of a gun hammer being drawn back startled Eddie into swinging his gun back towards Chad. "You want to get out of here before I decorate that wall with what's left of your brain, you sick fuck," Chad snarled.

Eddie narrowed his eyes. "She's mine, _cabron_."

Andrea took advantage of Eddie's momentary inattention to dive towards her own issued weapon and trained it on her ex. "I don't belong to anyone but myself. Chad, get the key from him." She was so angry she could spit – how dare he come inside _her_ house to watch her in some of her most intimate moments with Chad? She had half a mind to put an end to him right here.

Keeping her gun trained on Eddie, she watched as Chad pistol-whipped him and knelt beside the ex-cop's unconscious body to rifle his pockets. Chad held up a house key silently and tossed it on the bed before searching through the other man's keyring. "Looks like he's got two of them. What the hell's wrong with…? He was _watching_ us," Chad said, his tone filled with rage. "I should put a bullet between his eyes right now."

"I'm sorely tempted to let you," she admitted, rubbing her forehead angrily. "Look, I'll call someone from the station to haul him in."

Chad was already reaching for his phone. "I'll do it."

An hour later, they stood outside watching as an officer shoved a still-groggy Eddie Reyes into the back of his car. "We'll have to wait until enough of the drugs are out of his system so we can get some answers from him and get him booked," he snorted. "He's so coked up right now, you could tell him his fairy godmother was here and he'd believe you. Report'll be ready tomorrow, Sergeant, Detective. We can get him for trespassing if nothing else."

"I'll pick it up first thing and thanks, Fisher," Andrea said. The man nodded to Chad in farewell and gave her a smile as he got in the patrol car and left – Chad came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders to watch Fisher drive off.

"He had to have been watching this whole time," Chad said thoughtfully. "I thought you were just being paranoid." His fingers tightened slightly in silent apology. "I should have believed you."

She sighed and leaned back against him. "I thought I might be paranoid, too. Something's not right with him; he's getting more and more erratic every time I see him."

Chad placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Well, he's probably getting way too desperate about the Quai Long situation. I'm not sure he'd do anything to you; he might be stoned out of his mind but he has to know I'd kill him if he made another move."

"So why was he watching us? Jesus, that's creepy as hell knowing someone's really been watching!" She shuddered and he rubbed his big hands up and down her arms to help warm her. "If he's getting desperate and acting this strangely, I think he's going to do something."

"He's not going to do anything to you, I won't let it happen," Chad promised, guiding her back inside the house.

Andrea sighed and let herself be guided back in. _It's not me I'm worried about, though. _She lay wide-eyed for a long time in the comforting circle of Chad's strong arms, slowly lulled into sleep by the the slow thud of his heart against his chest… if she'd known what would happen the very next day, she might have stayed awake a little longer.

tbc…


	22. Chapter 22

Chad stretched, yawning as he rolled his head over to look at the clock – it was still early, and he reached over Andrea to turn the alarm off. His girlfriend sighed in her sleep and hugged the pillow she was clutching to her chest, looking so beautiful that he stared at her for a long while before getting out of the bed. He ran a hand down the bare skin of her back and placed a kiss at the base of her spine, pulling a sheet to cover her and resetting the alarm to ring thirty minutes later than it usually did.

After gathering up his clothes and moving silently into the bathroom to take a shower, Chad flipped on the water and was nearly finished when a very sleepy and slightly grumpy Andrea pushed the shower curtain back. "'S too early. Why didn't you wake me when you got up?" She jumped backwards as he flicked some water at her. "Hey!"

"You looked like you needed the sleep," Chad explained. "Coming in, or selling tickets?"

Andrea's smile was transformed into a huge yawn. "Wonder how much I could get for a Shelten viewing?" She pushed her skimpy panties off her hips and stepped into the shower with him to snuggle against his chest. "God, I've gotta go get that arrest report… leave it to Eddie to ruin my day." Andrea slipped around him and rested her forehead between his shoulder blades, encircling his waist with her arms.

"But it's going to be a good day," he reminded her as he reached for the soap and poured a handful in his palm. "It started out with naked me, after all."

She giggled. "That's right, it did." Her left hand slipped lower and her fingertips brushed over the tip of his hardening cock.

"We don't have time for that," he warned.

Andrea moved her hand up to gather up some of the soap on her fingers, and wrapped her hand around him. "Just enjoy it, then... " She began to fist him slowly, then faster while she reached under him to knead his balls with her other hand. As always, his first instinct was to hold back, to draw things out. "Chad," she chastised. Andrea always told him that he had nothing to prove to her, so there was no need to hold back if he felt like coming; of course she'd also warned him to give in to the impulse because prolonged handjobs made her wrist hurt and that she'd kill him if she developed carpal tunnel just from jacking him off.

"Sorry," he panted, closing his eyes. "Faster." Another few flicks of her wrist and he came with a groan, jerking his hips.

Andrea released him as soon as she'd drawn the last shudders from him, and kissed his spine lovingly. "You'll be late if you don't go now," she said softly when he turned to take her in his arms. "You can return the favor when your shift ends." Chad let her go reluctantly with a lingering kiss and ducked back beneath the water before stepping out to reach for a towel. "Chad?"

"Yeah, baby?" he turned back.

She smiled. "Be careless."

An hour later, he got a chance to do just that. It'd been a relatively slow morning, since lately it seemed as if the entire LAPD had nothing better to do than to bring SWAT along for every little thing that might cause them trouble. Chad didn't really mind since he got more training hours in that way, even though he was practically leading Second Team these days… he'd only seventy to eighty left out of the required two thousand hours, give or take a few. Steve Ramiro came in to throw a roll of blueprints on his desk. "Get 'em ready, we've got a situation."

"Yes, sir." On route, the SWAT lieutenant briefed him; apparently some insurance agent downtown had gone off the deep end over something and had taken hostages. Ramiro took off to get the negotiations started while Chad's team got sight and sound set up. "Looks like we can reach the floor above our disgruntled employee," he pointed out, looking over to Faith Lipson. "Get our gear ready, and meet me up top."

She heaved a worried sigh. "Right away, Sergeant."

It seemed to take forever to get clearance to get going, but finally Ramiro radioed him with the go ahead after two hours of fruitless negotiations. "This punk's not moving, Shelten – get in and get the hostages down. Take him out if necessary."

After signaling acknowledgement and getting their lines set up, Chad swung over the side of the building and slid down slightly to wait for Lipson to catch up to him. He eyed her approvingly as she fought past her initial fearful reaction and began to rappel down to him. "See? You're doing fine," he reassured her, and was rewarded by a shaky smile. "Now, he's on the sixth floor so we're stopping at the seventh – why?"

She breathed in, closing her eyes. "Because he'll be expecting us to come _up_ after him, and not down?"

"That's right. I'll go down and across first, you follow me." Chad set his boots on the side of the building to push off, and felt a strange tremor in his line. _Huh. That's odd._ He put it from his mind and settled himself to push once more… and felt it again.

Beside him, Lipson squeaked slightly. "Sarge, you feel that?"

Chad twisted to look below them just as Ramiro demanded to know why he wasn't in position. He slowly reached a hand across to his radio. "Lieutenant? We may have a problem here."

"Sergeant Shelten, get in position," Ramiro snapped. "The only problem is that you're not where you need to be."

He looked over at Lipson, who still had no idea exactly what was happening, and reached for the radio once more. "Williams? Check the lines, please."

"But, Sergean-"

"_Check the lines, _Dave. Do it now." He dug his fingers into the brick in front of him and tried to think of what they could do… and came up with a whole lot of nothing, since they were still about eight stories up and below them were a handful of squad cars and stretches of cement to break their fall when the lines snapped. He should have told Andrea that he loved her when he left for work.

Chad closed his eyes as he heard the flurry of panic on the radio when Williams shakily announced that the ropes had been tampered with, and were nearing their stress limit. Lipson began to hyperventilate. "You think they can get enough men up top to haul us up?" she asked, eyes wide. "I don't want to fall, Chad."

"I promised to look out for you, Faith. I won't let you fall." He outlined his plan quickly for getting as close to the ground as they could while the ropes still held. "Are you ready?"

They were almost to the fifth floor when he felt his line start to break.

Andrea yawned yet again as she reached for her cup of coffee, and Hopper rolled his eyes. "I don't even wanna know why you're so tired," he commented.

"Like I'd tell you anyway? Please." She shook her head amusedly and took a sip. _Ah, caffeine. What would I do without you?_ Flipping open the file that held the arrest report on Eddie, Andrea saw Hopper lean over slightly so that he could take a look at it. The phone on her desk rang and she reached for it, stifling another yawn. Thank God it was Friday and she'd get a chance to catch up on her sleep. "Battle."

For some reason, Eddie had decided to call her from where he was locked up in County. "Andrea, get me outta here."

"Not gonna happen, Eddie. Shouldn't you be calling your cousin to arrange bail? I'm sure as shit not going to help you out with that."

Anger started seeping into his tone. "You don't wanna do this to me, _puta_. I can cause trouble for you."

"You know what, Eddie? Save it. Even if I weren't going to press charges, Chad sure as hell would."

She started to hang up when Eddie said something in a tone so venomous that her blood ran cold. "Shelten won't be doing much of anything."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He snickered. "Guy that big must be heavy. You know that saying, the bigger they are…? "

_He can't be suggesting…_ "Eddie," she said warningly.

"I hear he climbs buildings; that's a lot of weight for one rope to hold, yeah?" Across the desk, Hopper looked at her curiously as the blood drained from her face. "I've always wanted to learn how to fly – guess Shelten's gonna beat me to it," Eddie hissed.

Andrea dropped the phone and was out of her seat in seconds, Hopper running after her asking what was wrong. Nearly spraining her ankle on her rush down the stairs because she didn't want to lose time waiting for the elevator, she dialed the SWAT office and a bored-sounding Hawkins answered. "Hawkins, have the teams been called out today?"

"Yep, Chad took the other boys and girls off to the Allied building two hours ag-"

She hung up on him and fumbled for her keys, which Hopper snatched from her hands with a demand to know what was going on. "God _damn_ it, Hopper! Give them back," she screamed, lunging for the keys. Panic was flooding her body; she had to get to Chad to let him know not to climb.

"At least tell me where you're going; I'll drive you," her partner said in a shocked tone, handing the keys back hurriedly.

"Allied building. Eddie said that Chad-"

"Okay, let's go."

On the way there, he questioned her and the blind panic receded just far enough to let her answer. "Hurry," she begged. "It's just up there, I can see it…" Andrea's words trailed off as the first scream of the siren reached her ears, and all she could do was stare at the ambulance as it passed them with an escort of SWAT cars. She knew without a doubt that Chad was inside it. "Oh, my God."

To his credit, Hopper didn't say a word but managed to get them turned around and following the other cars as her cell phone rang. Hopper answered. "Yes, she's right here… we're on our way. Thank you, Lieutenant." He hung up and turned to look at her. "They're taking him to the hospital Rita works at."

She caught her breath at the gentle confirmation in her partner's tone. "Please hurry," she said in a small voice. The flashing lights of the ambulance up ahead blurred through her tears.

tbc…


	23. Chapter 23

Hopper stopped the car long enough for her to jump out and run towards the Emergency Room entrance, where the ambulance had stopped. She tried to push past some of the members of the SWAT team who were milling anxiously, and Lt. Ramiro grabbed her arm to stop her headlong progress. "Hey, hey – whoa, there… they'll take care of him," Steve said softly. She tried to wrench her arm out of his grasp when the paramedics lifted the stretcher from the ambulance. Chad looked so pale, and he wasn't moving. Was he dead? He couldn't be dead, she couldn't lose him. Not him.

"How did…?" She choked back a sob and vainly tried to free herself once more as Chad was taken out of her sight. "I have to see him, let me _go_!"

Paul Santos gently disengaged Steve's hand. "I've got her, Lieutenant." Ramiro nodded slightly, clearly not sure what to say as Paul led her into the hospital. "He's in good hands, Andrea," the SWAT officer tried to reassure her with a hand resting on her shoulder and sympathy in his eyes.

Andrea brushed the tears from her eyes angrily. "There was only one ambulance. Did… did Faith make it?" She felt bad about not asking about Chad's climbing partner; from what she'd overheard on the radio, both lines had been messed with.

"Well, she's a bit shaken up but Chad, he…" The other man blinked rapidly. "He's always got to be the goddamn hero." He refused to say more, but steered her towards the waiting area where several members of Second Team were clustered together and talking in low voices. They all seemed to be in shock over what had happened, but each of them had a kind word and a hug for her. Curling up in one of the chairs, she hugged her knees to her chest and tried not to cry.

A touch on her hand made her look up, and then Rita was sitting in the chair next to her with Hopper dropping into another chair. "Hey," Rita said softly.

"How is he?"

The other woman shook her head gently. "We don't know yet. He's in surgery… want me to stay with you?"

She swallowed, hard. "But, you saw him. Right? Do you think..?"

Rita sighed and squeezed her hand. "I really don't know, Andrea. He was hurt pretty badly, but Lord knows that the man is stubborn. Chad won't give up without a fight."

Andrea stood and began pacing while the others watched silently as they all waited for word of the sergeant's fate. Movement off to one side caught her eye and she looked over to see a miserable looking Faith Lipson coming through the doors with Hawkins, who had his arm around her shoulders supportively. The petite officer's face crumpled as soon as she saw Andrea waiting for her, then they embraced and cried all over each other while Hawkins shifted from foot to foot looking extremely uncomfortable. "I'm so sorry," Faith sobbed.

"You can't think that it's your fault," Andrea said, wiping at her eyes again.

"I was s-s-so scared, Andrea. We were so high up, and… it was just so high," the other woman sighed. "Our lines, something happened to them. Lieutenant said they'd been cut partway through." She raised tear-filled grey eyes to Andrea's. "Who would do something like that?"

Andrea sucked in a breath; in the stress surrounding Chad's not-quite-accident, she'd nearly forgotten that it was Eddie who'd done this. She opened her mouth to explain about Eddie, but Lipson kept going as if desperate to make sure Andrea understood and wouldn't hate her.

"He's like a big brother, you know? Always looking out for me." Faith sniffled and mopped at her tears with a tissue Justin Hawkins handed her. "Chad said he wouldn't let me fall, that he'd promised to keep me safe. When the… when the ropes started to go, we'd just reached a ledge. He said that if I took his line, I'd be lighter and both ropes would hold me." She started hiccupping in distress. "He'd always go all 'Discovery Channel' on us at the strangest times."

Despite herself, Andrea smiled. That was Chad, all right.

Faith continued, tears falling faster. "He unclipped his harness and threw me the line…and I took it. He tried to keep his balance on the ledge, and at first I thought it was gonna be okay, you know? We were just above a window, for God's sake! But the brick was just too old, and a piece of it crumbled – you know how heavy he is – and then he just… he just i _fell_ /i ," she whispered. "If I'd just said no when he wanted to give his line to me…I'm so sorry!" She flung herself into Andrea's arms.

"Don't be stupid," Andrea scolded. "If he hadn't done it, both of you would be in there right now instead of just him." She tried a smile. "And he'd be cranky to see you in an adjacent bed and you wouldn't want that, would you?" Andrea could definitely see Chad trying to protect his 'little sister' until the end, just because he'd made her a promise. i _Please let him live through this… I need him in my life_ /i she prayed silently.

"Guess not," Faith said, wiping at her eyes again.

They stayed together, talking quietly until Steve Ramiro came by again to check on them a few hours later. "Still no word?"

"Jury's still out," Andrea said tiredly.

"Why don't you take Faith home?" the lieutenant suggested to Justin, who nodded and helped his girlfriend up from the chair. Once they'd gone out of earshot, Ramiro looked over at Andrea. "He saved her life up there."

"I know."

"Shelten's a good man."

Andrea drew in a breath; she'd have to tell him about Eddie. "Yes, he is."

"Standard procedure is to ask you how you think the ropes were tampered with, and to eventually lead up to suspecting you as the one who sliced the lines," Steve sighed, sitting back. "But I won't do that. I've known you and Chad long enough to realize that you'd never do anything of the sort – you'd maybe hit him with a tire iron, but he'd have it coming to him and it wouldn't do any lasting harm either." His lips quirked in a smile. "But I will ask about the ropes. Do you know-"

"Eddie Reyes." She rubbed her eyes. "He'd been trespassing, and was picked up for it last night. He's in a cell at County." Breathing deeply, she told the SWAT Officer in Charge all that had happened for the past two weeks as well as the phone conversation. "My guess is, he'd been planning this ever since Chad thrashed him that first time… probably found Chad's spare gear, sliced the ropes a little, then came in with the gun."

Ramiro looked shocked. "He hadn't told me about the arrest; he seemed like he was in a good mood today…"

Andrea blushed slightly. "Well, that's probably because this morning, um…"

"Ah." He cleared his throat. "Yes, I think we'll send someone down for Reyes… and perhaps a few officers to check for fingerprints? I'm guessing Chad left his things in a particular place each time he stayed over, and you'll need to come down and give a statement."

She glanced involuntarily down the hall to where the operating rooms were situated. "But what if…"

"Best thing you can do now is keep busy – won't do any good sitting here worrying," he said gently. "He'll be in surgery for a while, then they'll put him in recovery… I'll have men stationed here to report back if there's any change. The statement won't take that long, I promise."

Down at the station she dutifully gave her statement, left a message on Laurel and James Shelten's answering machine and was headed out the doors and back to the hospital when she saw a familiar prisoner transport van pull up and Eddie was escorted out. Hatred surged through her veins at the sight of the smirk on his face, and if it wasn't for Ramiro holding her back, she would have shot him right then and there. Beside them, Williams' eyes narrowed. "That him?"

"Stand down, Officer Williams," Ramiro ordered when the other man made as if to lunge at Eddie.

"But, Lieutenant – he's _smiling_," Williams snarled angrily.

"Williams," Ramiro warned.

Eddie had the nerve to look over at her and wink. "Guess you're single again, huh?" he called.

"Why, you little-" she lunged against Steve's grasp and this time Ramiro let her go. The County deputies simply looked on as Andrea drew back her arm and punched Eddie in the face so hard that he nearly fell on his ass. "You better pray he makes it through surgery," she hissed.

Eddie just laughed. "Either way, he won't want you any more."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

His grin widened, and she had the urge to bash in his face a second time. "Think about it, _chica_. It's your fault – you think he's gonna keep you around when he finds out you're basically the one who put him in a wheelchair for the rest of his lif-" he yelped as one of the deputies brought her baton across the small of his back as hard as she could.

"Get him out of here," Andrea snarled.

"With pleasure," the other deputy said grimly. From the way Eddie was hauled into the building, she didn't envy him his chances – they had their share of friendly fire cases on the force, but at least then other people knew it was an accident. For an ex-cop to deliberately try to kill a cop on active duty… well, she expected that the smirk would be wiped off Eddie's face many times over.

When she arrived at the hospital, Rita was waiting for her with a worried look on her face. "What's wrong?" she asked, startled. A feeling of dread settled in the pit of her stomach… he couldn't have died, he wasn't allowed to.

"They're just moving him right now – surgery went a lot better than expected," the other woman said softly. "It's actually something of a miracle that his spinal cord wasn't severely damaged, but we'll know more when he wakes up."

Andrea blinked, her rush of relief that he was alive tempered by anxiety at Rita's choice of words. Not severely damaged? So that meant it _was_ injured. "When _is_ he going to wake up?"

Rita bit her lip. "We don't know for sure yet. He was wearing his helmet and that protected him from the main force of the impact, but… he slipped into a coma. He'll be in ICU on oxygen for now."

She shook her head, confused. "You mean, he can't breathe on his own?"

"It's just a precaution, that's all. When he wakes up, we'll be able to take the tubes out and see… his body needs to heal right now."

Andrea felt the tears well up again. "Can I see him now? I need to see him," she choked.

"Of course," Rita murmured. Andrea followed the other woman down the hall, hyper-conscious of the monitors beeping from behind each curtained alcove and the silent way that the nurses moved from patient to patient. Near the end of the hall, Rita stopped beside a curtain and beckoned to her. "I'll leave you alone with him for a while – do you want me to call his parents for you? I've still got Laurel's number," she said awkwardly.

She sighed. "No, I'm expecting her to call me any minute now. I'll handle it." Rita nodded and left, so Andrea continued toward the curtain slowly. Drawing it back, her heart felt as if someone had squeezed it in an iron grip. "Oh, _Sarge_"

He lay on the bed, eyes closed and oblivious to the monitors and various other things hooked up to him. Andrea pulled a chair up to the bed and reached for his hand, mindful of the IV. He was a mess of tubes and bandages, and the sight was more than enough to start the tears flowing yet again. She started talking to him, uncaring of the nurse who came in to check on him as she told Chad how much she loved him.

"You're going to tell me that he can't hear me, aren't you?" she accused the nurse suddenly.

The nurse smiled. "Of course I'm not," she said with a slight Australian accent. _That must be nice for the patients to hear,_ Andrea thought stupidly. "I think he can hear you."

"Rita said he's in a coma? How, um, how long do those usually last? I hear stuff all the time about people never waking up," Andrea said fearfully.

"It depends, really. A coma can last anywhere from a day, a week, a month, or several years," the nurse said gently. "There's no way of telling, I'm sorry."

She left silently and Andrea moved her chair closer to Chad's side, looking at his battered face intently. "You're not allowed to sleep in, you know that. Remember that time when I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep? You made the bed around me so I couldn't move, then dripped water on my face until I woke up." Andrea smiled slightly at the memory. "I should do that to you. Serve you right for being so mean."

Chad just lay there with his eyes closed. _I'd give anything for you to open your eyes and look at me… just look at me. Please, just look at me._ She stood to lean over him and brush a kiss over his forehead, then curled her fingers around his and settled back in the chair, falling asleep and dreaming of better times.

tbc…


	24. Chapter 24

You never really realize what you have until it's gone, Andrea thought with a sigh after she caught herself for the umpteenth time rolling over to the left side of the bed, expecting to find Chad lying there. She always found herself ready to share an observation, a joke, a question with him – it was only when she opened her mouth to speak that she realized that he wasn't there, and then felt foolish for behaving that way. It was hard, getting used to the fact that he wasn't there and might never be again.

It was the third week after his fall, and he still hadn't woken up from the coma. The guilt she felt over it was nearly overwhelming at times, and she was halfway to believing what Eddie had said… if Chad woke up, he'd blame her for the accident and rightly so. She never should have told Chad about her problems with Eddie, and just paid Slim off. Then none of this would have happened… but it was useless to agonize over what she should have done. Andrea still visited Chad on a daily basis; she'd sit at his bedside before work, and stop by for hours afterward. Most of the time, one or more of the members of his family was there with him.

They didn't seem too much inclined to talk to her, and she couldn't really blame them. Word of what had really happened had leaked out, even though she made no real effort to hide Eddie's part in it. Annie had told her right away that she wasn't to blame for what Eddie had done, and reassured her that none of them felt that way – they were simply worried about Chad. She wished she could believe it and always left his bedside with an upset stomach and an inability to sleep, curled up around his pillow trying not to cry as she breathed in his scent.

Second Team was a regular fixture at the hospital, and Andrea knew it was a constant surprise and consolation to James and Laurel to see how close knit the SWAT team really was, and how highly their son was thought of. At work, she ignored the sympathetic looks as well as the gleeful ones – the cops at Central had never liked Chad when he'd been with IA and quite a few were inordinately pleased at the thought that he might never wake up. Graves finally forced her to go on leave after he'd caught her being too rough with a suspect; she was told that she was simply too volatile, and needed to 'get her head on straight' before she'd be allowed back. Well, she'd need to testify at Eddie's preliminary hearing when he recovered from the severe beating he'd received after Chris Choi had 'accidentally' left the door to the interrogation room unlocked while he went with his partner, Spivak, to get coffee across the street.

Andrea sighed as she locked her door and walked through the hospital's parking deck on her way to visit Chad. She nodded to Rita as she passed the nurse's station, and again at Laurel as she walked self-consciously into the room to sit on the other side of Chad's bed. "Still no change, huh?"

Laurel shook her head, tiredly. "None. One moment I'm talking to him, and it really seems as if he'd about to open his eyes and respond." Chad's mother rubbed her eyes. "It's so hard, seeing him like this. He was always into everything as a boy, and running around – I've never seen him so…" she stopped to clear her throat. "Meg and Becky said they'd be here in a few minutes."

"I thought I saw them downstairs, actually. They're probably getting coffee or something," Andrea said awkwardly.

Chad's sisters came in quietly with their coffee to settle around the bed, and Laurel stood. "Well, I'm going home for now – your father should be here in an hour," she told her daughters. "I'll see you later, Andrea?" Laurel bent over the bed to kiss her son's forehead, stroking his hair gently. "I'll see you tomorrow too, Big Trouble," she said fondly, using the Shelten family nickname for him that had always made Chad roll his eyes whenever he heard it.

Andrea was rooted to her chair when she saw Chad's eyelids flutter. Had she just seen…? Laurel stood and turned to gather her sweater when Chad opened his eyes slightly. "Mom?" he asked weakly.

Laurel picked up her cardigan. "Yes, dear?" she asked absently, and then dropped her armful with a gasp as she realized Chad was awake. "Oh, my darling… my little boy," she breathed, starting to cry as she bent back over to kiss his forehead repeatedly. "How do you feel?"

Chad blinked. "Hurts. Wha…where…?"

"Sweetheart, don't you remember? You're in the hospital," Laurel said gently, brushing away her tears as Megan ran full tilt out to summon the nurses.

" 'M tired," he complained softly. "Don't feel…feel good, Mom."

All Andrea could do was to stare at him, drinking in the way his mouth moved when he spoke, and the color of his eyes – she'd forgotten that they were such a beautiful shade of blue. Chad's eyes rested directly on her a split second before three nurses came charging in the room to check his vitals, and blocked his view of her. When they left to call a doctor, Chad had been heavily dosed with painkillers and was unconscious once more. Andrea came up to kiss his cheek and whisper goodbye, then she slipped from the room unnoticed by the other women.

The light was so bright that it hurt his eyes and made it hard to think. Voices seemed to come from everywhere and he tried to speak, but couldn't make them listen. Everything hurt. Flashes of memory came back to him; he saw a woman's frightened face, heard a confused babble of voices somewhere around his shoulder, and then he was falling. After that was just darkness and pain… but why were they shining a light in his face? He could barely make out faces of … someone, he couldn't tell who they were. Looked vaguely like doctors, but why would doctors be leaning over him? That didn't make sense.

Chad tried to move, but it was like something was holding him down; the sound of Andrea's voice soothed him and drew him away from the panic that had welled up inside him. He tried to find her in the darkness, but whenever he got close enough so that he could nearly touch her, she'd be gone again and he'd have to try to listen carefully for her voice. Other voices joined hers, overlapping as they called to him, and he never seemed quite able to reach them.

It was like swimming up from a dark well towards sunlight, like the time he went to visit his uncle's farm in Illinois and Andrew had dared him to hold his breath for the two minutes it took to swim beneath the surface of the lake and through the small cave in the rocks… his clothing had gotten snagged on a branch and he'd started to panic, chest hurting and needing air desperately. When he'd finally managed to free himself and swam back up to the surface, air had never tasted sweeter to him – and the scared look on Andrew's face had made up for it all. Now, his mother's voice provided the pull he needed to get free of whatever had held him down and he opened his eyes to call to her.

Then she was crying for some reason, and kissing his face – where was he? He tried to ask, but the pain made it hard to breathe as her hand stroked his hair. Chad felt as if all his limbs were dead weight; he hurt, and he was so tired… he wanted Andrea. Movement at the corner of his eye caught his attention and he tried to focus on whatever it was; he relaxed slightly to see a very familiar pair of big brown eyes looking right at him_. Andy_. But then several women blocked his view of her – nurses? – and he felt so tired that he couldn't stop his eyes from closing. He tried to protest; he didn't _want_ to go back to sleep but he couldn't help it.

When he woke the next time, Andrea was gone and his father was sitting there waiting to talk to him. "Nice of you to join us."

"Hey, Dad," Chad tried to say but it didn't come out exactly right due to the amount of drugs he'd been filled with, and he frowned. "Sssound fin..fuh…fanny." He recognized his surroundings and closed his eyes as the memory of what had happened rushed back.

His father smiled at him. "It certainly does. Someone's here to see you," and he motioned for whoever it was to step forward.

Steve Ramiro came to the edge of the bed. "How you feeling, Chad?"

Chad frowned up at his lieutenant. "Like fffell off bill-billing."

The other man couldn't help but grin. "Yeah, guess that sums it up pretty well."

"Drugs're nice, th-though… some good shh-shi-ssshi'," he slurred, then frowned again. "Rope…ropes cut, sssir."

Ramiro pressed his shoulder gently. "I know; we've got him in custody." He cleared his throat and looked away. "Look, you need to rest now. The boys are real glad that you're back with us, and I know for sure that Faith-"

Chad tried to struggle upright at the mention of his climbing partner. "Is, is she…?"

"Easy, easy… she's just fine. She can't wait to see you," he was reassured quickly. "Hawkins'll bring her by tomorrow, how's that?" Ramiro nodded to Chad's father and left as yet another nurse bustled up to him and reached for his IV with more drugs.

"Don' wanna sl…slee…sleep 'ny more," he complained weakly, irritated that he couldn't seem to form a complete and halfway coherent sentence. He was hushed in a tone that would normally have made him angry, but it just sounded like one of his little sisters scolding him and the thought was strangely comforting as he drifted off once more.

Every time he woke up, someone was there by his side… but he was starting to get upset that the someone was never Andrea. The first few times he tried to ask for her, he couldn't get the words out correctly and they always thought he meant Andrew, or even Annie. Chad couldn't understand why she wasn't there – hadn't he seen her looking at him when he'd first opened his eyes? At first he figured that she must have been visiting him while he was still asleep, but had to leave for work before he woke up… then he started listening to the murmurs of the nurses and the people who _did_ come to see him.

The doctors would come in and talk about him when they thought he couldn't hear, saying all the standard crap they spouted whenever his family would ask questions: it was too early to tell, they should be optimistic… but he could tell that none of them expected him to be able to walk ever again.

After more than a week of hoping that Andrea would visit him and trying to fight the despair he felt at not being able to move, he stopped looking for her. She wasn't coming.

She wasn't even working, from what he heard. It was funny how they thought that just because he'd fallen from the side of a fucking _building_, his hearing had been damaged along with the rest of his body. It was hard to pretend he didn't care that Andrea didn't seem to want him anymore now that he was like this, especially when he'd see the looks on everyone's faces and the way that they carefully didn't say her name.

Practically the only ones who didn't treat him as if he was a complete idiot were Second Team, and Lipson especially. After he'd gotten her to stop crying all over him – he'd joked that she was trying to drown him – she and the others would crowd into the small cubicle and ask him things like how the food was, and if he really thought he'd get away with lying on his ass all day while they were out enforcing justice or some such thing. Hawkins was fond of holding his X-Rays up to the light and making fun of how much metal was holding him together, and he'd laughed despite the pain when the nurse had caught Williams trying on a hospital gown.

Annie liked to spend time with him too, and he always enjoyed her visits because she was the only member of his family who didn't just tear up at the sight of him and pet his hand like was some sort of stuffed animal. She teased him about drooling while he was asleep, something he vociferously denied, and would bring DVDs with her so they could watch movies together. Of course, he was still so weak that he kept falling asleep during the first thirty minutes, but she'd always stop it and leave the rest for later.

He was feeling particularly sorry for himself one morning when she came to see him, waving a DVD in the air. "Check it out, Big Trouble… I got us a new movie."

"Oh, it's you…don't wanna watch," he grumbled. His meds were wearing off and he was growing steadily more uncomfortable by the minute.

"Well, look who's grouchy today? Need more morphine?"

Chad shook his head. "Not just yet. Can't talk right with that stuff."

Annie plopped into a chair next to him after planting a kiss on his forehead. "Mom says hi…and what's with the 'oh, it's you'? Who did you want me to be?" She frowned slightly. "Andrea, maybe?"

"I didn't say that."

His sister cocked her head to the side, something Andrea always did. "You know, I haven't seen her around lately."

Chad looked away. "She's just too busy right now."

"Uh huh. She hasn't come to see you since your lazy ass woke up, has she?"

"I've been on so many drugs I couldn't really tell," he lied defensively.

"Uh huh."

He was getting more and more irritated by the second. "Stop 'Uh huh'-ing at me and put in the damn movie, will you? Jesus."

Annie smiled. "Temper, temper, Big Trouble. Do you want some Jello? Will that soothe the savage beast?" she teased, reaching for a spoon.

When she started pretending it was an airplane, Chad's patience had reached its end and before he realized what he was doing, he lunged up and struck the spoon out of Annie's hand, sending it flying against the wall. "Get the hell out of here," he yelled, collapsing back against the bed as his movement caused pain to flare through his limbs. "What are you looking at?"

His sister wore a pleased look on her face. "You just moved." He blinked as the realization sank in.

"I… I guess I did."

His elation was tempered by Annie's smug comment of, "Rita said you probably would if I got you angry enough."

tbc…


	25. Chapter 25

She'd cleaned her house several times over, starting anew as soon as the rags she'd used were tossed in the washer… after all, what else was there for her to do these days? Graves said she wasn't allowed back until Andrea had a change in attitude, whatever the hell that meant. There wasn't anything wrong with her, she'd maintained, but it was as if they all knew just what she was trying to hide. Ever since Chad had opened his eyes she'd stayed away, unable to face him. It was stupid and beyond childish to think that if she just avoided the issue it would go away, but she grew more and more miserable.

The only people who really knew the truth about the situation were the nurses and doctors working the night shift at the hospital – when she was sure that Chad's family had gone for the night, she'd come and watch him sleep. There'd been a few close calls where he'd stirred just as she reached out to touch his face, whispering that she was sorry and that she loved him, but she'd beaten a hasty retreat each time and the words remained unsaid. Andrea threw her newest rag down on the floor suddenly, drawing her knees up to her chest as the ever-present washed over her in a sudden wave that left her breathless. She missed everything about Chad, and would give anything to be able to just walk in there and put her arms around him… but that was precisely the one thing she couldn't do.

Meredith whined unhappily from where he was curled up on the couch – he knew full well he wasn't allowed up there, but she hadn't the heart to make him move. He just stared at her through reproachful eyes and drooled on the upholstery while she came over to scratch behind his ears. Andrea had been taking care of the big, ungainly pitbull ever since Chad's fall and Merry never ceased to let her know that although he liked her, she'd always be second best and he wanted his Chad. She smiled and gave him one last pat. "I miss him too, big guy." He snorted as if to show her his opinion of _that _statement, but she was spared having to respond by someone ringing the doorbell. "Be right there," she yelled, climbing up off the floor.

When she opened the door, she came face to face with Annie Shelten. "We need to talk," Chad's sister announced, stepping past her without waiting for an invitation.

Andrea blinked and closed the door as Annie plopped down on the couch beside the drooling Meredith, who promptly settled his bulk into her lap and made her grunt. "What can I do for you?" Andrea asked awkwardly. "Would you like something to drink, or…?"

She was pinned by a blue eyed stare. "What you can _do_ for me is quit being a dumbass and come visit Chad."

"I've been to see him-"

"While he's _awake_ and can see that you haven't abandoned him," Annie interrupted, frowning.

Abandoned? What the… "I haven't abandoned anyone."

Annie crossed her arm and raised an eyebrow at her. "Tell that to Chad."

"Look, he hasn't asked for me and I don't blame him," Andrea flared. "I'm the reason he's there, after all. I know everyone is talking about how it's my fault and how I never should have gotten mixed up with Eddie in the first place."

The other woman blinked under the verbal onslaught. "Wha..? Who's talking? And what's this about it being your fault?"

Andrea wiped at her eyes angrily – it seemed like just about anything these days turned on the waterworks. "Eddie said-"

"_Eddie_ said? You actually listened to what that piece of shit said?" Annie was indignant. "… er, what exactly did he say?"

"That Chad would think it was my fault that-"

Annie made a rude noise. "Like hell he does!"

"He doesn't ask for m-"

"Because he thinks you don't want to see him!"

She glared at the other woman. "Will you let me finish what I'm-"

"No!"

"You're just like Chad, you know that?"

Annie smiled smugly. "Runs in the family." She leveled a glare at Andrea. "But the one thing we _don't_ share is his current state of stupidity...well, it's pretty much been a constant state with him for about forty years, but really. Who's counting? Now, stop me if I'm wrong: You think that Chad blames you for his fall, and doesn't want to see you again, so you visit him at night when he's asleep and can't wake up to slap some sense into you."

"Well, except for the slapping part of it…"

Chad's sister shook her head. "I really should knock your heads together – I _will_, once the doctors give me permission. My idiot big brother has gone all Gloomy Gus on us because he thinks _you_ don't want _him_ anymore... Jesus. You two really _are_ a matched set."

She stood up to leave, and Andrea could only stare at her. "Why would he ever think that I wouldn't…"

Annie shook her head again. "Yeah, you two deserve each other all right. I'll make sure you idiots have privacy when you come see him tomorrow." She narrowed her eyes at Andrea suddenly. "Because you _will_ come see him tomorrow or I will bat my eyes at Stephen Ramiro and have the SWAT team drag you down there."

The other woman left, and Andrea sank back down on the carpet in disbelief – all this time, she'd been thinking that Chad didn't want to see her… she bit her lip and looked over at Meredith, who was gnawing contentedly at a cushion. "What do you think? Should I go see him?" He just looked at her and spat out a mouthful of fringe. "Okay."

The next morning when she finally got up the courage to walk inside the hospital past a few members of Second Team, Andrea couldn't shake the feeling that they were judging her as she leaned on the doors and pushed inside. She was halfway down the hall when voices called her back. "Hey, Battle!" Andrea turned, expecting to be chastised for staying away so long, but all Jameson did was smile. "He's on the fourth floor – got moved last night."

"Thanks."

After exiting the elevator and asking for Chad's room number, she paused outside and drew in a deep breath before knocking.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to pretend to be cheerful, Chad thought. It wasn't as if he weren't grateful that he had people to come visit, but the one person who really mattered never did and her absence was making him more and more depressed. Annie had seen through his ruse easily enough; did everyone else know, too? He found it likely that they were trying to make up for Andrea not being there by not giving him a moment's peace, though he had to admit to himself that it'd been good having Annie piss him off so badly that he was actually able to force his body to move.

He tried to be accommodating when it seemed like everyone on the damn planet had to come see how he was doing, and he _did_ appreciate their concern, but lately he just wanted to be left alone. Chad grimaced in pain as he resettled himself on the bed, pulling the blanket up over his chest and closing his eyes wearily. The physical therapist had been in to see him and had started him on what exercises his body could handle… that had been an embarrassment in itself. Chad had always taken pride in being strong and staying in shape, but now he could barely eat dinner without being exhausted by the effort it took to raise a fork to his mouth.

A tentative knock on the door made him close his eyes…maybe if whoever it was thought he was sleeping, they'd go away. He sighed inwardly as the door opened and footsteps approached the bed, then he heard the soft scrape of a chair being pulled up. "I'm asleep," he muttered.

"It certainly looks like it," a very familiar and longed for voice answered, and his eyes flew open to see Andrea sitting there. Trying to sit up too fast only had the result of making him flop back against the pillows, wincing but she was out of her chair and at his side instantly. "Easy," she soothed.

If he blinked, she'd be gone… was he asleep and just dreaming her, or was she truly there? "Andy?" he asked in a disbelieving tone.

Her eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry I stayed away. I thought you – I thought you might not want me to come," she whispered. "I know what happened with Eddie is my fault and you have every right to kick me out right now."

What the hell? She thought that he blamed her for…? "But it wasn't your fault," he said, bewildered. "I thought that you didn't want-" He wasn't allowed to finish since she glommed onto him so tightly he could barely breathe – it hurt, but that was okay. Andrea covered his face with kisses, crying all over him as he tried to put his arms around her as tightly as he could. He felt relief so intense that he thought he'd disgrace himself by crying, too.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, snuffling against his neck and squeezing him until he grunted in pain. "Oh, I'm _sorry…!_"

"'Sokay, the pain lets me know I'm alive," he wheezed. She drew back, more conscious of his injuries. "You don't have to sit back in the chair - I'm still good for kisses," Chad hinted.

He moved over slightly, trying to tilt his hips to make room for her on the side of the bed and she smiled, perching on the corner and leaning down to kiss him gently. "I won't leave you again," she promised. "Not even if you get a restraining order."

Chad felt better than he had in weeks. "I guess I'd better call the judge then – I had one placed against you just a few days ago." He closed his eyes as her fingertips traced his face, and her lips brushed against his gently. "I missed you."

She drew away from him, and he saw the tears well in her eyes again. "Missed you more. I thought you might never wake up," she said mournfully.

"It takes a lot more than an ex-boyfriend of yours to kill _me_." He winced as an injudicious movement sent a fresh spasm of pain through his body. "Stupid little shit never could get anything right."

The room door opened again and his mother poked her head in just as Andrea leaned in to cuddle him carefully. "Chad, look what we- oh, Andrea's here," she said delightedly.

Annie pulled her from the doorway. "We'll just be going now, you two continue with what you're doing." Chad made a shooing motion that made her laugh and close the door, then he closed his eyes and leaned into Andrea's gentle caresses.

At length she drew away from him with one last nuzzle. "You look like you could use some sleep, Sarge."

He opened his eyes with a start. "Sleep? What? No, I don't."

"Yes, you do," she contradicted, and stood up – he reflexively grabbed her arm, alarmed that she was going to leave him again. "I'm just going to sit in this chair right over here… I'm not leaving," she reassured him, understanding immediately. Andrea curled her fingers gently around his as soon as she settled into the chair, stroking her thumb across his palm in soothing circles.

"I know what you're doing," Chad yawned. "Not gonna fall for it."

Andrea just gave that snorting giggle that always made him smile whenever he heard it. "Is that why you can't keep your eyes open?" She reached her other hand in her bag and pulled out a book.

"Mm-hm." He tried to keep his eyes open, but was roundly defeated by the quiet rustle of pages turning and the feel of Andrea's fingers on his skin… he fell into the deepest sleep he'd had yet, reassured by her presence.

tbc…


	26. Chapter 26

"Need anything from the first floor while I'm down there?" Andrea asked, rummaging through her bag in the search for her wallet.

Chad looked over at her hopefully. "A wheelchair?"

She wrinkled her nose at him. "Nice try."

"Damn it!"

Andrea laughed as she patted the top of his head in a patronizing manner. "You'll have to wait until the doctor clears you for one, my dear."

"But-"

"No 'buts', you're going to wait," she said with a scowl. "Did you see me trying to walk before the nurses told me it was okay to use crutches?"

Chad narrowed his eyes at her. "Of course I did - you were hopping all over the damn place!" Looking over at Lipson for help and finding none, he sighed. "_Fine_, I'll wait." He folded his arms and glared while Andrea simply smiled as she left to get coffee. "You could've stood up for me, you know," he commented sourly, eyeing his climbing partner.

"I know," Faith grinned. "But a little bird told me you'd be discharged today anyway."

He perked up immediately. "Yeah?" She nodded in confirmation and he glanced toward the clock – it'd only be a few minutes until the nurse came to check on him again so he could ask about finally getting the hell out of here.

Andrea came back as Lipson was leaving, and perched on the edge of his bed. "Want some? I didn't put as much sugar in it as usual."

Chad looked over at her. "No, I think I'll have some later." He waited for a response, then tried again. "At home, you know." Still nothing. "When I get released." She finally grinned at him. "How long did you know? You should have told me," he chastised.

"I know, sweetie. I just wanted it to be a surprise." She stroked his hair and gave him a kiss.  
"Did you figure it out, or strong-arm Faith into telling you?"

"I have my sources," he said mysteriously. "Steve said that I can come back to work as soon as I finish training to set up audio and video, did he tell you? Of course I could only work on sting operations until I'm strong enough to return to what I've been doing."

She smiled. "Is that what Anderson was doing in here with his computer the last few times I've come to see you?"

"Yeah, you don't need to be able to walk to set up A/V stuff…" They talked about their various work assignments until one of his doctors appeared in the doorway, clipboard in hand. "I want out of here," Chad said bluntly.

"Well, we'll see about that." She checked the paperwork and asked him the same questions that he'd been asked about a million times every day now, then closed the folder with an amused look on her face. "Well, despite your threat to shank one of the nurses if he didn't get you a wheelchair so you could make your great escape… it seems that you're well enough to go home." After giving Andrea a long list of medications he needed to take and precautions _she _needed to take against Chad 'running before he could walk' – the doctor seemed to find this expression particularly hilarious – he was finally discharged and given a wheelchair.

"I wonder if Andrew's anywhere around… I'd love to run him over in this thing," Chad sighed wistfully.

Andrea laughed. "He was only doing what you'd asked him to."

"No, he wasn't! That was willful and premeditated," he scowled, flexing the muscles of his right arm – surely he was strong enough by now to knock his cousin into the next week. He was grateful that Andrea hadn't asked any of Second Team to help her get him to his place; he hadn't minded that much that they'd seen him in the hospital, but out here was a different story. Andrea was the only one he really trusted not to laugh at his not being able to do most of the things he'd taken for granted before. "This isn't my car," he said when she pulled up a new Yukon outside the entrance and opened the passenger-side door.

She tilted her head at him. "Yes, it is. You landed on top of your old one, and I fixed up the paperwork for this new car with Haight's help." Andrea held the wheelchair in place as he lifted himself inside, knowing better than to call for help. Regardless of the upper body strength he'd regained, he was still tired when he finally pulled himself up and into the seat. "Let me just get the rest of your paperwork, and put this in the back," she commented.

He felt better with every mile they put between them and the hospital. "I hate hospitals."

"Don't really blame you, Sarge. How long ago did you take your pain meds?"

Chad sighed. "An hour, I think... I don't want to take those too often."

"But they help with the pain, sweetheart."

"I _know_, but it's just…ever since I was in IA, I've known too many cops in situations like mine who've gotten hooked on their medication after an injury."

Andrea glanced over at him sympathetically. "That's a whole lotta injury, Sarge, but I guess I can't really blame you for that either." She made the turn off onto the street where he lived, and smiled. "Mrs. Marino's been asking about you lately… I think she just wants to know if you'll leave your shades open a little more now than you used to," she teased. She unobtrusively helped him from the car, and he was too tired to even argue when she pushed the wheelchair through the doorway of the house and into the bedroom. "I've been after the doctors to release you for weeks now – I know how much you hated being there," Andrea said softly, stroking his hair after he'd gotten himself into his own bed.

"I'm sick of lying down," he murmured sleepily. "Wanna walk."

The cool press of Andrea's lips against his forehead was the last thing he felt before he fell asleep.

Andrea waited until Chad had fallen asleep before draping a blanket over him and going to retrieve the things Rita had made sure she'd taken with her when they'd left the hospital. She arranged the pill bottles on the sink of the bathroom and propped the braces up against one corner of the living room – with any luck, he'd be able to use them within the next month. Chad still had a long way to go before he was 100 again, but the doctors expected him to make a full recovery. Most of the bones that had been broken as a result of the fall had healed, but the main worry was his spine – with that and the internal injuries that were still slowly healing, she had to watch him like a hawk to make sure he stayed safe and didn't try anything stupid.

She'd already extracted a promise from him not to try to walk unless she was there to help, and she thanked God that Chad was a man of his word and wouldn't go against her wishes. Once Ramiro had been sufficiently reassured that he would get his sergeant back on the team, he'd made sure that the force paid for a physical therapist who would hopefully shorten Chad's down time by actually coming to the house several times a week. Chad had grumbled something fierce about being harassed in his own home, something only a good deal of loving kisses had put an end to.

At least he would walk again – not like she'd love him any less if he never could but Andrea had known how afraid he'd been of being paralyzed and, in his mind, useless. She grinned at the memory of what had happened the day Andrew had been to visit him: his cousin had asked Chad if he felt anything in his legs, since if he didn't that meant that he wouldn't be able to walk ever again. Chad had sarcastically suggested that since no one had stabbed him in the leg, he wouldn't know. Before Andrea could stop him, Andrew had snatched up a fork and sunk the tines into Chad's left thigh – and the almighty bellow the big man had let out had nearly scared her half to death. _"You stabbed me with a fork! Who _does_ something like that? Jesus!"_ Chad had yelled. Andrew had calmly announced that it seemed as if Chad _would_ walk again, and he would send the bill in the mail.

She made a mental note to warn Andrew that his cousin was out for revenge in his new wheelchair and walked an anxious Meredith, who started whining as soon as he smelled Chad on her clothing. He slipped from her restraining hands when she opened the door, barreling into the bedroom as he howled loud enough to wake the dead. "_Merry, _no!"

The happy pit bull leaped onto the bed and snuggled enthusiastically against Chad, drooling all over his owner and barking incessantly until Chad reached out a hand to pet him. "Your breath is as bad as ever - I definitely didn't miss smelling it," he informed the dog, who was panting in his face. "Did Andy take good care of you while I was gone?" Meredith growled at Andrea when she made to pull him off the bed, unwilling to leave his human just yet. "Hey! Be nice," Chad warned. Meredith's ears drooped pathetically and he skulked out of the room with a reproachful look over his shoulder. "And to think, you called _me_ a Drama King."

"Sorry about that," she apologized. "I didn't think he'd make so much noise."

Chad stifled a yawn. "That's okay, I was out for an hour anyway…" He reached for her suddenly. "You know, this is the first time we've been truly alone in months."

Andrea kicked off her flip-flops and crawled into his arms. "We need to be careful," she admonished.

"Hold me gently," he cried theatrically, making her giggle. In due course, they had arranged themselves on the bed so that they were pressed together and taking advantage of their newfound privacy. Andrea sighed against his lips and snuggled closer still, flicking her tongue at the corners of his mouth sensually as his hands slid over her body slowly. "Andy," he panted. "Can we…?"

"Do you think you can?" her eyes widened and she flapped her hands in distress. "Oh, I didn't mean…! I'm sorry, Sarge."

Luckily, he thought it was funny and didn't take offense. "You tell me," he said with a wink as he caught one of her flailing hands and guided it between his legs.

Her eyes widened again. "Oh, you _certainly_ can."

"And if I'm not mistaken, I was told that I'd have to return a certain favor…I know it's a little late, but I don't forget my promises." Chad's fingers walked up her leg and she shivered, trying to move as close as she could without hurting him – his sides were still tender. Minutes later, she'd forgotten her concern as well as her own middle name… he was as good with his hands as he'd ever been. Andrea screamed aloud as she came, writhing against him and blinking back tears that she quickly concealed by pressing her face into the curve of his neck. "I love you," he murmured, stroking her back.

She regained enough control to lift her head and kiss him again. "I love you too, Sarge."

His fingers resumed stroking up and down her spine. "I've been thinking – that's about all I can do these days – but… remember when we had that fight about those pictures?"

"Yeah," she sighed as she settled her head beneath his chin, content to let him touch her. It had been so long since they'd even shared the same bed…

"Do you still want to?"

Andrea started, unable to believe that she'd just let him get her off without worrying about his needs. "Do you still have the condoms here? I kind of let my birth control lapse," she said shamefacedly, reaching across him to the night table.

He grabbed her arm. "What are you doing?"

She frowned. "You still need to," and she gestured at his lower body.

"No, that's not what I meant," Chad laughed. "I was asking if you still wanted to live with me."

Her mouth dropped open. "Huh?"

"If you don't want to, that's fine – God knows I haven't been the ideal partner lately." Chad fixed her with a meaningful look. "This is when you say that I'm _always _the ideal partner," he prompted.

She laughed despite herself. "Well, you just said it for me… but, really? You want us to move in together?" Andrea held her breath for him to say that no, it had just been a whim that had made him ask.

"That's what I just said," Chad said patiently. "So, yes? No? Maybe? Ooof! Hey, I said to hold me _gently…!_"

tbc…


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: Each section is after a certain span of time that may or may not be indicated :D

He was glad he'd finally come out with it, and even happier now that she'd agreed – Andrea hadn't exactly _said_ she wanted to move in together but judging from the way she was climbing all over him, she definitely wanted to. "I'm not hurting you, am I?" she asked suddenly, raising her head from where she was scattering kisses along his collarbone.

Chad had to laugh; before now, he was the one who had always needed to ask. "No, you're fine." He sucked in a breath as one of her small hands slid between his legs and began to massage him through the fabric of his track pants. "Andy, you don't have to…"

She licked her way up his neck and nuzzled his cheek lovingly, in counterpoint to the way her hands were kneading his crotch. "The difference is that I _want _to." He tried to push his hips up against her and she took the hint, releasing him just long enough to draw his pants down and off his legs after he stripped off his shirt. Andrea slipped out of her clothes, and he had just enough time to eye her appreciatively – she just seemed to get more beautiful each time he saw her – before she pounced on him again. "And now, Sergeant, I shall have my way with you," she growled playfully.

"Yes, please."

Andrea smiled at his breathless plea before kissing her way down his body, taking time to flick her tongue inside his navel before licking at his cut lines. The look she gave him from beneath her lashes just made him harder. "It's been far too long," Andrea sighed before scooting down and swiping her tongue up his length from root to tip. She planted several teasing licks and sucking kisses on his cock, drawing uneven groans from his throat. Chad bit back a yell when she finally sucked him into her mouth and began to bob up and down; the sight, sound, and feel of her moaning around him made his fingers dig into the bed sheets. Andrea drew off him and grasped his shaft firmly, pumping him while she sucked lightly on his glans. "Bet you like that, don't you?"

Chad gasped as she pinched the tip of him suddenly. "Just…just a little…oh, _God_…!" Andrea started to slap his cock gently, then with more force as she tried to gauge how far she could go. She returned to stroking him firmly with one hand as she reached into the nightstand for a condom, rolling it on with the ease of long practice before climbing up his body and settling over him. He groaned loudly as she sank down, her walls tight and hot as Andrea began to ride him.

Chad ran his hands over her body, loving the way she rocked and arched her back as she fucked him. "Chad…yes, yes, _yessss_," she hissed. He tried to push up into her, his movements hampered by the soreness that was still slowly dissipating as he rebuilt his muscles. He gripped her thighs and felt the urge to come making his balls draw up tight against his body as he watched his cock sliding in and out of Andrea's pussy. God, she felt good. He splayed a big hand over her stomach and thumbed her clit, gripping her to keep her from jerking away reflexively. "I'm gonna…gonna come," she moaned, her voice frantic as she started working her hips wildly. Andrea threw her head back and gave a choked cry as she clamped down on him, trembling violently.

He guided her up and down, the rhythmic squeezes of her walls drawing him closer and closer to his own orgasm until he felt himself get so hard it hurt. Then he exploded, hips rising helplessly off the bed as he surged up into her and cried out her name. Chad dimly felt her collapse on top of his chest and would have laughed at how her body rose and fell because of how hard he was breathing, but he didn't have any energy left to spare. He slowly became aware of Andrea's sobs, and tried to shake off the pleasure-induced fog that had settled over him. "Andy? Baby, are you okay? Did I hurt you?" She just cried harder and clung to him while he grew more alarmed. "Talk to me, what's wrong?"

Andrea raised tear-filled eyes to his finally, and gave him a watery smile. "Nothing."

It didn't look like nothing to him. "Was I really that horrible?"

She choked on another sob, making some sort of weird gargling noise as she was caught between tears and laughter. "_No!"_ Andrea rubbed at her eyes and burrowed against him to run her fingers through the hair on his chest and tug at it gently as she tried to tell him what was going on. "It's just… I never thought that we would ever… I love you so much," she finished, bursting into tears again.

Chad held her as tightly to him as he could, knowing exactly what she meant. "I love you more."

"That's just not possible," she sniffled.

"Yes, it is. I just said it was. And I'm bigger than you are, so that proves it." He gave her a playful shake. "Now quit trying to blow your nose on me – that's just gross."

Andrea slapped at him half-heartedly and went back to cuddling, which was just fine with him. He could handle being cuddled.

The crashing sound coming from the living room made Andrea nearly fall off the edge of the sink where she was painting her toenails. She leaned out of the bathroom door to listen carefully and when she didn't hear anything, decided that she'd better just ask. "Chad?" A small sigh from the other room made her grin. "What are you doing out there?"

"Testing gravity. It appears to still be working."

She shook her head and picked up the bottle of nail polish again. "Just try to be careful, okay? Steve's going to get on my ass if you're not healing on schedule." After cleaning up the polish that had been spilled in her surprise, she finished her task and went out to supervise Chad. His physical therapist had left a list of exercises for him to accomplish on a daily basis, as well as a special menu to help him regain the weight he'd lost. Typically, Chad resisted the plan set up for him simply because it would entail him eating more food than his metabolism could keep up with – although Andrea had sworn up and down that she'd love him even if he wasn't his normal strapping self, he'd given her a look of blatant disbelief and renewed his protests.

After she'd insisted - with frowns and everything - that he follow the diet and exercise plan, Chad had given way with a hefty measure of sulking and crabbiness and was now perpetually paranoid about his appearance. Andrea had found that assuring him first thing in the morning that his pants didn't make him look fat was the best way to go… she still couldn't believe how vain the man could be sometimes. She knew he tried to get around the exercise limits placed upon him every chance he got, and let him think he was getting away with it- she just dosed his water with the pain medicine that he was convinced he didn't need so that he would simply fall asleep to get the rest that he _also_ thought he didn't need any more of.

Andrea rounded the corner to smile down at Chad – it looked like he'd been in the middle of push-ups when sleep had overtaken him. He was spread out on his stomach across the rug, one arm curled beneath him and the other was flung wide with Meredith licking at his fingers in an attempt to wake him up. "No, Merry," she said softly, snapping her fingers and pointing towards the cushion she'd brought from her place. The pitbull whined and stalked off to the pillow, glaring at her reproachfully once he'd settled in. "Don't give me that look, mister. I brought that cushion from my own couch so you could sit your big ass down on it."

Grabbing a pillow from their bed, she lifted Chad's head gently and slid the pillow beneath his cheek just as a knock sounded at the door. Still smiling over Chad's ungainly sprawl across the floor, she stepped over him and opened the door to find Rita on the other side. "This isn't a bad time, is it?" The other woman's eyes grew huge. "Is that…is that Chad on the floor?" From his cushion, Meredith hackles raised and he began to growl.

"No, come on in. He'll be out for at least an hour since I just knocked him out; he'd sleep through an earthquake."

Rita's eyes got even bigger. "You _what_?"

"Dosed his drink, Rita."

"Oh."

Andrea shook her head in amusement. Surely Rita couldn't think that she would actually…? "Come on in, do you want something to drink? I promise it won't be spiked with painkillers." She led the way around Chad's unconscious form, and glanced back to see Rita stepping over her ex-husband with a strange look on her face. "Something wrong?"

"What? No, of course not. Not at all. I just wanted to stop by and see how he was doing." Rita fidgeted uncomfortably for a few more seconds before finally blurting out, "You don't actually have sex with him, do you?"

_What the hell? _"Um….what the hell?" Andrea followed Rita's pointing finger to Chad's back pocket, where the corner of a condom wrapper could barely be seen. "What exactly does that have to with anything?"

Rita drew in a deep breath. "It's not…you shouldn't…. it's sick," she spluttered. "How _can_ you?"

Every single charitable thought that had passed through Andrea's mind about Rita since Chad's not-quite-accident suddenly disappeared. They said a leopard couldn't change its spots and it looked like the proof was right here. "Sick? What's that supposed to mean? There's nothing wrong with me being intimate with my boyfriend," she said, starting to get angry.

"He doesn't like that sort of thing," Rita snapped back. "Why can't you just leave him alone for two seconds?"

Andrea wondered if she needed to hit her again, but calmed herself with a Herculean effort. She had a better way to handle this. "Chad actually likes it when I take charge. Besides, we figured out that the best way to go about it is to put pillows on either side of his hips so I have enough leverage to bounce-"

"Oh, my GOD!" Rita ran for the door, spurred on by Meredith who decided the time was ripe to lunge for the hem of her dress.

The slamming of the door finally roused Chad, who blinked sleepily. "Wassgoinon?"

"Nothing, Sarge."

He yawned. "Okay. Why'm I on the floor again?"

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Chad took another step inside the door. All he had to do was make it to the chair, and then he'd be fine… he felt his knees start to buckle as he got closer, and slammed his hand down on the side of the table to steady himself. Andrea was there instantly to slip an arm around his waist, but instead of the lecture he was expecting she just guided him to the chair. "Aren't you going to tell me I need to take it easy?" he asked suspiciously.

She just gave him a sweet kiss. "Nope."

Oh. "Well, why not?"

Andrea glanced over her shoulder at him as she walked into the kitchen, hips swinging enticingly. "Because you're a big boy, Sergeant Shelten. You know your limits as well as I do." She leaned over to reach inside the refrigerator for that protein crap the physical therapist was making him drink and despite how miserable he felt, he couldn't help but admire the view. "And you can quit ogling me like you're about to charge over here and get me up against the counter."

"Can't I at least get a raincheck for it?" he asked wistfully, lamenting that after his physical therapy session he wasn't strong enough for the exercise he _really_ wanted to do. He was glad that they'd hit upon the perfect solution to make Andrea more comfortable when they made love, and appreciated that he had a beautiful woman who actually _wanted_ to make love to him, but felt that it wasn't right to make her do all the work.

She cast another sexy look at him, and winked. "You'll have me on my back in no time, don't worry."

"I'll try not to," he promised, zoning out to think of exactly what he'd do to her when he was strong enough. The shower, definitely. And he'd always wanted to try it standing up, too… well, if he managed to convert all the weight he was gaining into muscle. "Andy," he began.

"You're not fat, sweetheart."

Chad frowned. "You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"Would you rather I started calling you Jabba?"

He snorted. "No."

"Then quit being so sensitive about your figure. I already told you that I'd love you no matter what… besides, have you seen your biceps lately? Oh my god."

Chad grinned, and lifted an arm to flex for her. He hadn't been able to do much about his lower body because of the weakness in his back muscles, but there hadn't been anything to stop him from developing his chest and arms. "They _are_ pretty nice, huh?" He figured his biceps were twice the size they had been before, and he was really enjoying Andrea's reaction to them – she was constantly running her hands over him and staring. Which reminded him, for some reason, of the stares he'd shortly be getting at work when he went in the following day. "Andy, are you sure you're okay with getting up earlier to take me? I can just tell Steve to-"

She waved a slotted spoon at him. "I already told you, it's fine. You can't go back to driving yet – legally, anyway – so I don't mind being your chauffeur…. You'd better give me a good tip, though."

He looked her over meaningfully. "I can even pay in advance," he hinted.

Andrea came over and plopped down in his lap, making him wince slightly as the movement jarred the tortured muscles of his back. "Uh huh. You'll have to pay up tomorrow – double – because it looks like you need another massage." She poked him with the spoon playfully. "Although, if the rest of you gets as big as your arms, I'm gonna need to hire someone else to help me out with that."

"Did you just say, 'massage'?" he asked as she stood back up to finish dishing their supper onto plates. "Whoa, I can't eat all that!"

"I might have, I don't know…and yes, you can. You're not up to your optimum weight yet, so you need to eat as much as possible." Andrea placed it in front of him and he groaned as she added even more. "And don't give me any guff about carbohydrates, Sergeant."

"But you hardly have anything on _your _plate…"

"Chad. Shut up and eat."

Being the wise man that he was, he shut up and ate.

tbc…


	28. Chapter 28

She settled cross-legged upon the floor of the gym, watching as Chad finished his set and dropped the weights back into the cradle, breathing deeply. After a rather pointed glare, his physical therapist finally flourished a piece of paper beneath the big man's nose and Andrea couldn't help but grin as Chad snatched it up irritably. Today was the day he was getting cleared to return to his regular duties and she knew quite well how much Chad despised the cheerful little man who was constantly chanting things like, "Think _positive_, big guy!" at him.

"Just sign here," the man chirped and Chad turned pleading eyes towards her when he couldn't find a pen. Andrea smiled and tossed him one from her purse, and he quickly scrawled his signature, shoving the paper back towards the man. "Splendid, just really _super_! Let me get a copy of this little certificate and-"

"Just mail it to me," Chad interrupted.

The other man looked offended. "_Well_…!"

"Okay, gotta go!" Chad took off for the locker rooms, leaving her to shrug her shoulders at the therapist when he whirled to glare at her as if it were her fault that Chad didn't like him. Chad emerged roughly twenty minutes later, his hair still wet and his skin smelling like soap. "Is he gone?" He held out a hand to her as he peered about cautiously.

Andrea threaded her fingers through his. "I think s-_whoop! _Over there," she pointed.

The man popped out from behind the elliptical machines to wave at them. "Sergeant Shelten, I-"

Chad disengaged his hand from Andrea's and gave her a push towards the doors. "He sees us – run!"

"Chad…"

"Shit, he's got a protein drink with him! Go! _Go!" _They took off to the car as his erstwhile physical therapist tried to follow – when they were safely away, they rode in silence before glancing at each other and bursting into laughter. "He just pops out of nowhere – it's really weird," Chad said as soon as he'd wiped his eyes.

He steered the car towards her place, which surprised her more than a little. "Sarge, why are we…?" Chad just settled a big hand atop hers and didn't reply until he turned the ignition off.

"We've both been avoiding this place, and it's stupid. What happened here, happened…neither of us can change that. Come on," and he held out a hand to her. "I think we've forgotten that we had some really good times here, too."

Later, she lay in his arms as Chad stroked her skin and buried his face in her hair. "What was the name of that…that… what _was _that thing you did?"

"Can you be more specific? I did a lot of 'things'," he boasted, sounding so proud of himself that she just couldn't bring herself to tease him about it. She'd promised him free reign over her body once he got cleared for active duty, and he'd just made a rather impressive and extremely enthusiastic start on taking her up on it.

Andrea rolled onto her side, still unconsciously trying to take care around him even though he was now nearly twice his size thanks to the extra weight and muscle he'd been forced to pack on his already huge frame. If this bout of lovemaking was any indication of what he still had in store for her… she shivered just thinking of it.

"Are you cold?" he asked, concerned. "Maybe we should get off the table."

She grinned. "I'm just astonished that we didn't break it, the way you were going."

"I didn't hear you complaining," he said, arrogance personified. "But I really think we should return to the ground – or your bed – in case one of us rolls off accidentally. I've had enough of falling off things." Chad sat up and scooped her into his arms to carry her off to the bedroom.

It felt really good to be back, Chad thought in satisfaction as he walked into SWAT headquarters under his own power. A couple times, he'd been in to work on some technical stuff and make sure the others were filing their reports like they were supposed to, but he'd been using that damned wheelchair and he'd always felt embarrassed at not being strong enough to rejoin his team. Faith charged up to him and nearly tackled him in a joyful hug. "Chad!" His climbing partner stepped back and eyed him up and down. "What've they been feeding you? You're huge!"

Chad tugged at his collar. "Steve figured if I bulked up, the muscle would help insulate whatever's still healing… I just wish he'd ordered me a bigger uniform," he joked.

Hawkins and Jameson came up to bug him about metal detectors, then he had to endure the teasing of the rest of the team as they gathered around to greet him. "Let the man be – he's got work to do," Steve said sternly. "I need to see you in my office, Sergeant."

"Yes, sir." Chad followed Ramiro into the lieutenant's office and sat down after Steve gestured to a chair.

Steve settled into his chair and steepled his fingers beneath his chin. "I hear you were giving the therapist a hard time… which, admittedly, wasn't that big a surprise because he's annoying as hell." He reached into a drawer and rummaged around. "Glad to have you back, though." The other man tossed Chad's badge at him. "Get to work. You're leading a team to serve a warrant, have Williams fill you in on the way."

Williams handed him the warrant as soon as he came out of Ramiro's office. "You know? Ramiro left the car you landed on down in the parking deck – you sure wiped out the hood of it."

"Why would he keep it?" Chad studied the picture of the man they were being sent to arrest.

"To remind us what happens if we don't triple check our equipment, I think."

Chad sighed and handed the papers back. "Yeah, that would've been a good idea."

After serving the warrant the rest of the day was spent getting acquainted with the caseload they were working with, fixing up A/V lines for a sting, and putting up with the other team members teasing him about how much weight he'd gained. He was getting tired and trying his best to hide it right about the time Ramiro decided that he needed to go down to the driving course to get re-qualified for the SWAT trucks.

To add injury to insult, the officer chosen to administer the test was one he'd raked over the coals when still head of IA. From the look on the guy's face, he remembered it quite vividly, too. "Well now" and he looked down at his clipboard "Sergeant Shelten, shall we get started?"

The other man – Officer Marlow, Chad remembered suddenly – started writing immediately as soon as Chad got in the training car and reached for his seat belt. "Is there a problem?" he asked, already knowing that he'd fail the test just because Marlow had an axe to grind.

Marlow made humming sounds as he finished writing whatever it was. "Not at all, Sergeant. Now, if we can get on with it…" Chad started the car, prompting the man to start writing something down again, and waited for his instructions. "Three point turn first, then some parallel parking."

Each move he made, Marlow started writing – with a final glance over at Lipson, who gave him an encouraging thumbs-up, he sighed and started following the officer's directions. It came as no surprise that he picked the one point on the course where it was virtually impossible to do a three point turn, but Chad managed it. Of course, when it was time to practice parking in the huge SUV, Marlow chose a spot that even a motorcycle would have trouble fitting in. "That space is for _compact _cars," Chad reminded the man.

"So, you refuse to park there?" Marlow's pen hovered over the paper.

"I didn't say that." Pulling up alongside the space, he pointed. "Look out the window." There was plainly just enough room for Marlow to open the door to get out, but only just. He'd have to admit that he'd picked something impossible for Chad to accomplish.

However, the only thing the idiot did was start writing _again, _mumbling along. "Refused….to…comply. Okay, try parking over there next." Chad made it through the rest of the requirements, even when he had to simulate hydroplaning as he was going forty-five around a corner and Marlow locked the wheels. "Okay, I think I've seen enough," the man smirked. "Stop the car." Chad forced himself to restrain from rolling his eyes as he parked in front of where Lipson was waiting.

When Marlow handed him the clipboard and a pen to sign it, his eyes dropped to where the word "FAILED" had been written in large block letters and circled several times. "I'm not signing this, you failed me!"

"Yes well," the other man smirked. "You just weren't up to standard."

Chad glared. "You're just trying to get me back for the IA investigation."

Marlow's eyebrows rose to his hairline. "Of course I am! And you can't do a single thing about it. Sign the _paper,_ Sergeant."

Faith was looking at them curiously, and he glanced back over at his partner a second before he shifted the car back into Drive. "No." Hitting the door locks, Chad stomped on the gas and headed back into the course.

"Stop! What do you think you're doing? Stop this car right now," Marlow threatened, a hint of hysteria entering his voice. Chad glanced in the mirrors to see Lipson diving for her radio. "If you don't stop this car, I'll-"

"You'll do _what_, you pathetic little desk jockey?" The needle on the speedometer went past fifty, then sixty. "I'm not done practicing my turns." Chad turned just as Marlow remembered that there was a brake installed in the passenger side, and stepped on it. Chad jerked hard on the wheel so that the car went into a controlled spin, reaching up to his shoulder to turn on his radio and locking it so that whoever was listening to the SWAT band could hear Marlow's squeals of panic. "How's this? Should we move on to the next part yet?"

He turned the wheel to bring them out of the spin and put the car in reverse. "S-s-stop," Marlow stuttered.

"I'm just getting warmed up." Throwing an arm across the back of Marlow's seat and making the smaller man flinch away, Chad looked out the back window and pressed on the accelerator. He did some turns that had Marlow squeaking and screeching in fear, and noticed that they had a much bigger audience who were clapping politely as if they were watching a golf tournament – including Steve Ramiro, who didn't look very amused. Another few spins made Marlow start moaning and clamping his hands over his mouth, so Chad slammed on the brakes just as he reached the spectators and unlocked the doors.

Marlow lurched out of the car and went into a stumbling run towards the end of the parking lot, but collapsed to throw up in the grass. Chad leisurely removed his seatbelt and picked up the clipboard which had been nearly broken in half when its owner was flailing in terror. He turned off the still-broadcasting radio as he ambled over to Marlow, who was still heaving. "Leave me alone," the man moaned, trying to crawl away on his hands and knees.

Chad held out the clipboard. "I just need something from you first." The other man reached out shaking hands for it, and scrawled something on a new evaluation form. Chad read it quickly and signed before shoving it back. "Make sure it doesn't get lost."

"Get in the car," Ramiro ordered gruffly, pointing to the squad car he drove. Chad obediently got in and Steve started the car, not speaking and keeping his face averted. When they'd reached the Sixth Street headquarters, the lieutenant finally looked over at him and he was surprised to seen the laughter on Ramiro's face. "That was some funny shit, Shelten. Just don't let it happen often."

"Sure thing, Lieutenant."

Ramiro started to laugh as they headed back up. "Got something for you in my office, come on." They passed a group of officers who were listening to a playback of the radio transmission and laughing so hard, some of them had tears in their eyes. Chad couldn't help but grin hearing the squealing of the tires and Marlow's screams of panic. "Make sure you make me a copy of that," Steve advised them. Once in his office, Ramiro held out a hand. "I need your badge first."

Maybe he hadn't been that amused after all, Chad thought. Well, it'd been worth getting suspended. He slowly unpinned his sergeant's badge from his uniform and handed it to Ramiro. "I need to turn in the report for ballistics before I can give you my gun, too," he apologized.

"Why would I need your gun?" Ramiro studied his badge and dropped it in a drawer. "You're a good man, Chad – you're talented, smart, think on your feet and take care of your own. I like that, and respect it. There aren't many on the force who would have done what you did for Lipson up on that building; you saved her life. Actually, she was the one who recommended your promotion, not knowing that I'd been priming you for it since day one."

Chad frowned. "Promotion? What-"

Ramiro held a hand up to forestall any more questions, and slid something across the desk. "You've been a good sergeant. Here's hoping you'll be a better lieutenant. Congratulations, Lieutenant Shelten." He held out a hand and Chad shook it numbly, still trying to wrap his mind around this unexpected turn of events. "Now get out of here – you look done in, and your detective certainly won't thank me if you're too tired to celebrate." Picking up his new lieutenant's badge, Chad stammered his thanks and was waved out of the door. "Go tell Andrea."

Andrea yawned as she waited for Ralph to finish pulling up the file she wanted. "Look, just let me back there – I can find it in two seconds," she wheedled.

"Is this your domain? No, it's _not_. I don't come up to Narcotics and dig in _your _files, do I? Again, the answer is 'no.'" After a few more minutes of unsuccessful searching, the balding man finally had to allow her back. "Just don't…touch anything while you're back here," he warned. She found the case file she wanted, and Ralph gave an aggrieved sigh as he handed the hard copy to her. A familiar sound from behind her made her smile. "Don't touch the bobblehead!"

"Is this all of it, Roknowksi?" Andrea asked, flipping though the pages.

"I already told you it was… and he's still standing there. What a tool," the other man muttered. "Even when he was in IA he'd always come down here thinking he was sooo much better than the rest of us."

Andrea whirled at this, and saw Chad lounging on the other side of the glass. "Chad! What are you doing here? I thought we were going to meet up at home." She ignored Ralph's eyeroll at being reminded of her relationship with the big sergeant.

Chad unclipped his badge and shoved it against the glass, his chest swelling with pride. "Look."

"Well, it's your badge."

"_Look._"

She looked, and it slowly registered in her head that instead of reading "Sergeant", it now said "Lieutenant". "Oh, _sweetheart!_ When did you…? Oh, that's great!" Andrea burst out from behind the Ballistics counter and jumped into his arms. Behind them, Roknowksi made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat and lowered the blinds so he wouldn't have to witness any further displays of affection. She kissed him enthusiastically. "I'm so proud of you! We definitely have to celebrate tonight. Are you off now? I can go whenever."

"Yeah, Steve just cut me loose," he assured her.

"You'll have to give me the whole story as soon as I get home," Andrea smiled, and kissed him again. "That's really great, Chad. Lieutenant! Have you told anyone else yet, or…?"

Chad slid his strong arms around her after he guided her down the hall. "You're the first, just like always."

She could feel how happy he was, and just what he might want to do in celebration. Another heated kiss had her grasping at his shoulders helplessly and giving her the courage to suggest something to him that she'd never been able to before, for some reason. "Remember what you were doing the night before your fall?" she rushed out before she could think about what she was saying. "And what you were doing with your hands?"

He frowned in puzzlement. "That was a long time ago; what do you mean, what I was doing with my hands?" Andrea grasped one of his hands and lowered it to her behind meaningfully. "You mean, you want to try…?" She nodded and his lips parted slightly, eyes dilating with sudden arousal. "Really?"

Before she could lose her resolve, she broke away from him. "Just make sure you've got enough lube ready…I've got to put these up on my desk, but I'll meet you at home." Andrea finished up, unable to keep the smile off her face and just shaking her head at Hopper when he asked what was going on. "Gotta go, Hopper. See you Monday."

She was nearly attacked the moment she opened the door to Chad's place – they were planning on finding another house to move their things in together, but for now his house was their impromptu 'home' – and Chad dragged her immediately into the living room where, she noticed, he'd put a few blankets and pillows down on the floor.

"Whoa, big guy – take it easy," she teased at his vehemence in trying to undress her.

"But we're celebrating," Chad said with a wink. Well, that much was true. Her uncertainty about what she'd suggested to him came rushing back as she spied the bottle of lubricant half-hidden beneath a fold in the blankets, but when she looked up into her lover's eyes her fears evaporated as if they had never been. She trusted him, and knew he would never hurt her. Her arms encircled his neck as he lowered her to the blankets and claimed her mouth in a passionate kiss.

tbc…


	29. Chapter 29

Chad quickly stripped off the rest of his clothes, and Andrea slid her arms around him as soon as he rejoined her on the floor. "I've never made love with a lieutenant before," she teased breathlessly as his big hands started roaming over her.

"I hope it'll become a regular occurrence," he panted, sliding a thigh between hers to part her legs.

She reached down to fondle him. "You don't have to worry about tha-_oooh_," she whimpered as he shifted against her suddenly to brush his hand over her before sliding two fingers inside. Chad bent quickly and started to go down on her, timing the swipe of his tongue with the thrusting of his fingers. Normally she'd require a lot more foreplay, which Chad never hesitated in giving because it was as enjoyable for him as it was for her… but just thinking about what he was planning on doing to her had her needing a panty change when she'd still been in the car.

Chad ran his free hand up her body and along her arm where she was gripping the coffee table, and twined his fingers with hers as he made sounds of obvious enjoyment from where he crouched between her legs. He came up for air and kissed the inside of her thigh, eyes dark with lust. "I could eat you all day, you taste so good."

Andrea whimpered again at the dirty talk, which they'd found out early on that they both enjoyed, before he went back to his self-appointed task and had her too strung out to think straight. When she was writhing her hips wildly and calling his name, he drew back and released her hand. "Chad, what are you-" He parted her labia gently and bent his head to blow across her folds; the feel of the air cooling her sensitized skin made her shudder and moan for him. "Don't tease me any more, Chad," she begged, trying to move but finding herself restrained by his strong grip.

"Relax, just trust me," he whispered, positioning himself at her entrance and brushing against her lightly. When he placed his hands on either side of her head and didn't move his hips, Andrea realized that she'd have to take matters into her own hands and reached down to curl her fingers around him. Chad gave an appreciative sigh when she started to rub the head of his cock over her clit, dropping his hips slightly to give her better access. After hooking a leg over his hip, she stared up into his eyes as she rubbed him against her, both of them moaning from the stimulation until it became too much and Andrea arched up off the blankets as intense pleasure exploded through her entire body.

He thrust against her fingers in a wordless plea to be finished off and she tightened her grip on his swollen cock, stroking until he came with a groan, his seed spurting over her belly and breasts. Andrea drew the last shudders from him with the increasingly gentle touches he preferred directly after orgasm, and he dropped to one side with a satisfied purr rumbling through his chest. "I thought we were going to….?"

Chad propped himself up on an elbow. "Not just yet." He drew her into his arms for a loving kiss after wiping up the pearlescent fluid that streaked her skin. "There must be something wrong with me, but I love the way that looks on you," Chad sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well." Andrea blushed slightly. "I like having it there. But if you wanted to aim higher, I wouldn't mind."

He rolled atop her, eyes flicking down to her mouth and back again. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." _Rita would have a brain hemorrhage if she heard what we're discussing_, Andrea thought irreverently. Chad kissed her again, one hand reaching to retrieve the lubricant he'd stashed and she wriggled to allow him to reach her. One of his fingers began to press inside her carefully, and Andrea tried to relax as best she could as he slowly added another digit to help prepare her for what they were about to do. He teased her back into passion with a few kisses and well-placed strokes of his other hand, so when she felt him urge her over onto her knees she went with no hesitation.

"If it gets too uncomfortable at any time, just tell me and I'll stop," Chad reassured her. She could hear him opening a condom and rolling it on, then opening another to place it well within reach. "Ready?"

Andrea nodded, and felt his knees nudging her legs farther apart at the same time as the cool slickness of the lubricant being drizzled just beneath her tailbone. And then… She fought to breathe as he began to slide into her slowly, stretching her in a way that should have been painful but it wasn't. Not exactly. "Jesus, aren't you in all the way yet?" she cast a look over her shoulder and groaned as he pressed forward again.

She could hear his breath coming faster and faster. "Almost, just…_fuck_, you're tight," Chad gasped. He gripped her hips and pressed her back onto him, surging forward a final time so that he was firmly seated within her. Andrea squeezed her eyes shut and tried not to scream as he moved slightly – it still didn't hurt, but it was certainly…_different._ A tiny sound escaped her lips and immediately recalled Chad to his rather frayed senses. "Are you okay? Do you want me to stop?"

He shifted again and this time, the movement brought curious pleasure with it. "N-no, just go as slow as you can," she managed.

Chad pulled out slightly and pressed back in, making her grab at the blankets again. "Is this okay?"

"That's perfectly fine," she tried to say, but it came out garbled with, "Do it again." Chad set a slow, even pace for his thrusts, his tortured breathing only adding to the excitement spreading through her. Surely this sort of thing must be wrong, but why did it feel so good? In different circumstances, Andrea would have been mortified when she heard the whine rising from her throat as he started to go faster but at this point she was beyond caring. Chad reached around her waist, clutching her close to him as he pistoned his hips. "_Chad…!"_

She was left gasping as he pulled out suddenly, barely aware of him removing the condom and sliding another one on until his hands raised her hips and he rammed into her core, riding hard. "Feels so good, yeah," Chad grunted. "God, Andy – I'm gonna-" he stiffened inside her and climaxed with a strangled shout, pressing hard on her clit and making her come seconds later. They collapsed in a sweaty tangle, breathing as if they'd been running a race; Andrea placed a kiss to the inside of Chad's wrist, feeling the hammering of his heart against her back as he pressed close. "Love you," he panted, nuzzling the back of her neck.

Andrea snuggled back against him. "My lieutenant."

After a short nap which they both needed, he carried Andrea into the bathroom for a shower – she hadn't said as much, but he'd seen how cautiously she was moving around and he felt embarrassed that he hadn't done a better job of holding back earlier. Chad kissed his way down her spine as he washed her off. "We can just stay in tonight, if you want," he offered. "Hey, lift your leg for a second…"

Andrea placed a stabilizing hand on top of his head as she obeyed. "No, we need to at least go for dinner, and a drink after to celebrate. That tickles," she giggled suddenly, twitching her foot away from the sponge he was soaping her up with. "After all, it's not every day that my man is made SWAT lieutenant."

"This is true, but we probably shouldn't stay out too late if we're going over to my parent's place for the weekend." Chad grabbed the shampoo bottle and started lathering up her hair as she wriggled her ass against him suggestively. "Hey, hey! Watch it there, lil' miss," he said in his sternest voice.

His girlfriend just laughed up at him and planted a soap sud on the end of his nose. "Laurel said that's been rescheduled for next month."

"What? She told me…"

Andrea shook her head and ducked beneath the water to rinse her hair. "Nope, she called me and said she'd forgotten about a baby shower or something."

Chad sighed – his mother was always thinking these things up at the last minute, and it drove him crazy. Which was, he figured, one part of the reason why she was so happy that he was with Andrea; that meant his mom could call _her _and be off the hook. "Great."

He had just rubbed some shampoo into his own, much shorter hair when Andrea decided to hit him where it hurt. "She also called to ask me if we had your sperm count checked while you were in the hospital."

"What!?!" Chad spluttered, getting soap in his eyes.

"Oh, sweetie – hang on, let me help." Andrea splashed water in his face as he groped for the towel rack to rub his face dry. "I'm not sure if she was serious; it may have just been a very unsubtle hint for us to start making babies."

"Well, let's not ask her. Maybe she'll forget about the whole thing….I don't think I can handle having my sperm discussed by the predominantly female members of my family." Chad was finally able to see, and quickly finished washing off. After dinner, a drink that turned into three bottles and a drunken escapade around town looking for a new pair of shoes for Andrea after one of her flip-flops broke, they took a taxi back to his place and ended up passed out across the bed.

The next morning, he opened his eyes to see Andrea's new shoes situated in the place of honor on her pillow – their new owner was busily sleeping off all the shots she'd had at the end of the bed, curled up near his feet. It was just as well they weren't going to see his parents; he felt like someone had run over him at least seven times. Extricating his feet from Andrea's grasp nearly took more concentration than his throbbing head could handle, but he finally padded into the bathroom to brush his teeth and grabbed some aspirin.

A tiny moan issued forth from the bundle of blankets near the end of the bed and Chad uncapped the aspirin, shook two into his palm, and slid his hand beneath the covers. He felt Andrea take them and lifted the edge of the cocoon she'd made to hold out a glass of water. "Don't feel good," she grumbled at him.

"There's a lot of that going around," he sighed tiredly, taking the empty water glass back from her and refilling it so he could take some aspirin. Crawling back into bed with Andrea and taking his pillow down to the end of the bed, Chad curled his body around hers and fell asleep only to be woken scant minutes later by her complaints that the sound of his heartbeat was hurting her ears. "Sorry, I'll tell it to be quiet," he yawned.

"How about this one?" Andrea pointed at a house, and Chad leaned over to look.

"Didn't we look at that one last week? They had the leaky faucets."

She grinned at his tone of disapproval that someone would let their home get in such a fashion, and climbed onto his back to peer over his shoulder at the listings he was looking through. "Why didn't you circle that one? That's a nice looking one…oh, it's a townhome." Andrea rested her cheek between Chad's shoulder blades and relaxed against him. "So, when do you want to meet up with the others?"

Chad pushed the papers away and flopped down onto his face, making her bounce and nearly fall off of her perch. "Whenever's fine… I just need to find my shorts."

Andrea slapped his butt playfully and got off the bed to stretch. "I think I saw the white ones mixed in with my stuff."

"Are you going to wear that new black bikini?" he rolled over onto his back and looked up at her hopefully. "I like that one. A _lot_," he hinted as if this endorsement would make her give in immediately.

She wasn't sure she was ready to let it all hang out around a group mainly made up of men, Chad's friends or not. "We'll see." Her cell phone rang just as she'd found the missing board shorts and was pulling on the requested bikini – after all, she could always insist that they leave early so she could give him a show later on. Maybe once she saw what Faith was going to be wearing… "Hopper? What's up?" Andrea tossed Chad his shorts as he sauntered past with no clothes on. "What? _No_, I already told you I had plans for today. Just take Rita with you on your stakeout, or something…oh, for heaven's sake! I'm going down to the beach with…hold on, you're breaking up," she yelled, rubbing her hand over the phone before closing it with a sigh.

"What'd he want?" Chad asked curiously, leaning in the door still holding his shorts.

She rolled her eyes. "He waits until _right now_ to figure out he's going on a stakeout in LD territory… and why are you still naked? Put those on before I spank you!"

Chad grinned. "Oooh. Promise?"

He ducked back out of the way as she lobbed a pillow at him, then Merry came bustling through the door to leap onto the bed, wagging his tail. "And make sure you've got his leash," she called after her boyfriend's rapidly disappearing bare backside. It sure was a nice backside, Andrea thought dreamily, her eyes following him. Pulling on her favorite pair of faded denim cutoffs and a black top, she grabbed her flip flops and led an excited Meredith out to Chad's SUV.

Most of the team was already at the beach when they arrived, and Chad took off his shirt to a chorus of wolf whistles as a call went up for a game of football. "Hi, Andy," Faith Lipson greeted, slapping Chad's arm affectionately as her climbing partner went past. Chad nudged her back and almost knocked her over. "Hey! Just because you're a lieutenant doesn't mean you can push me around," she joked.

"What d'you mean? Yes it does," he smirked, and gave her another push before loping off to join the other players down by the water.

"So, how'd you celebrate?" Faith asked, moving her towel closer to the ones Andrea laid out. Her eyes grew huge as she realized the implications of the question, and shook her head. "Never mind, just forget I asked!"

Andrea grinned and stretched out on her towel. "Well, we ended up getting drunk together and going shoe shopping- there may have even been some drunk-dialing, but I can't remember what all was gong on. The hangover alone was enough to make me want to shoot myself."

Hawkins ran past, giving his girlfriend a thumb's up and nearly running into a group of teenagers. Both women laughed, and Faith pulled off her shirt to sun herself. "Aren't you hot? I hope you have some sort of swimming suit on under there… we're all so proud of Chad," she continued with a smile. "He really deserved the promotion. He's a good man."

"Yeah, he really is." Andrea stripped down to her bikini, glancing over at the other SWAT team members and their families who didn't seem to care at all. A raucous wolf-whistle split the air just as she was sitting back down, and she glared over her shoulder at Chad who was making a big production of ogling her. "Sometimes he needs to be slapped, though."

Williams, Sanders, and Marten came over to talk to them, out of breath. "Heya, Chad's Angel – what's it like, schtooping a lieutenant?" Sanders teased.

"Wouldn't you like to know!" Meredith barked in apparent agreement, making them all laugh.

A few more members of Second Team joined them and they were laughing over a joke Faith was telling when Williams broke in suddenly. "What's _she _doin' here?" Andrea followed his pointing finger to where Rita could be seen walking down the beach towards their group.

"You just don't like her because she told you to quit bringing coffee up to Chad's room," Marten said disapprovingly. "I think she's hot."

Williams frowned. "Didn't you hear about that time she and Andy got into that slugfest a few months back? She's trouble, pure and simple, just like Hopper – you know about how he used to be partners with-" he broke off as she got close enough to hear their conversation. "Hi, Miss Shelten," he said dutifully.

Rita smiled around at them all, making Andrea instantly suspicious. "Hello, everyone. Andrea," she nodded. "I like your little swimsuit, it's cute. Do you mind if I join you?"

_Yes_, thought Andrea, but she forced herself to smile. "Of course not." She had a bad feeling about this, which only grew stronger as the other woman took off her cover-up to reveal a bikini that left very little to the imagination. On Andrea's other side, Marten started to drool. "So, Andrea. Where's my ex-husband?"

She did her best to suppress her anger at Rita's claim on Chad. _I'll 'my ex-husband' _you_, you stupid…_ "Oh, I think _my _boyfriend is still playing football," Andrea said pleasantly. Glancing down to where the other men and women had their game going, she saw Chad walking from the water with the football and start to walk towards them. "So, who won?" she asked, beating Rita to it.

"Everyone and no one. Hey, Rita – what're you doing here?"

Rita's eyes slid over him caressingly, making Andrea clench her jaw. "I wanted to see you. Can't a woman come to see her ex-husband now and then?" She inched slightly away from Merry, who was growling softly.

Chad could tell something was up. "Uh, I guess."

"You look wonderful," Rita said next, reaching over to place a hand on his muscular chest. "So strong." _Give me a fucking break._ _She is __**not **__going to try this, she just isn't. Not in front of everyone,_ Andrea thought in disgust. Chad settled down close beside her, plainly not knowing what to do to make her leave – he placed a big hand on the small of her back as if to simply be affectionately possessive, but she knew him well enough to know how uneasy he was whenever Rita was around. "Do you think you could help me put on my sunblock? You were always so good at that," Rita said sweetly.

"Um." He looked increasingly uncomfortable as Rita lay down on her stomach and reached back to untie her top, not knowing how to refuse.

The rest of the SWAT team exchanged glances as Rita set the bottle of sunscreen by her shoulder. "Hey Big Dog, we're gonna start another game – free for all, you know? Just come on down whenever you get a chance," Williams coughed, waving the others away.

Andrea finally had enough when, just as the others moved off and Chad reached hesitantly for the lotion, Rita turned slightly so that his fingers came in contact with her bare breast. Chad snatched his hand back as if burned. "Get out of here, Rita," Andrea said disgustedly. "What's your problem? Want to go swim with me, Chad?"

He sighed in relief. "Okay."

She made a point of not discussing what had just happened, knowing how embarrassed he felt in front of the others, and purposefully horsed around with him to make sure their friends didn't feel that they needed to feel awkward about it. Her lieutenant always seemed to be confidence itself, but she was the only one who truly understood how insecure and vulnerable he still was when it came to his ex-wife; they'd talk about it later, she decided, and kissed the smile back onto his face. When she looked back at where they'd left Rita to stew in her own juices, Andrea wasn't surprised to find her gone.

After a few more hours of hanging out and messing around with the others, they started to get ready to leave after swimming a final time. "Hey, why don't you go get changed and I'll meet you back at the car?" Andrea suggested, standing on her toes for a kiss. She shook the sand out of their towels and realized that he'd forgotten to take his other pair of shorts into the changing rooms. "I think the fall must've knocked something loose in his brain," she joked to Faith. "I'll be right back." As she approached the men's changing room to call out to him, she saw a very familiar and unwelcome figure slipping in ahead of her. _She just doesn't know when to quit… has she been somewhere watching us this whole time?_

Andrea walked in to hear Chad's voice. "What the hell's wrong with you? You need to leave, _now._"

"You know it was better when you were with me," Rita cooed suggestively. "Here, let me show you…"

"What the fuck? Hey, _hey!_" Andrea rounded the corner to find Chad backed up against the wall with Rita rubbing against him and was that her _hand _down his…? Just as she opened her mouth to yell, Chad angrily pushed the other woman away so hard that the _thunk _of Rita colliding with the opposite wall was clearly audible. He was just opening his mouth to apologize for being so forceful when he noticed Andrea standing there. "Andy, I-"

"Oh, I _got_ this one." She grabbed Rita's arm and hustled her out the door and into the women's changing rooms. Reaching out to grab a handful of the other woman's hair, Andrea wrapped it around her fist and jerked Rita backward to hurl her onto the floor. "You know? That's it. Chad might be worried that he'll hurt you, but I sure the _fuck_ am not," Andrea snarled. "You had your chance with him and lost it, bitch. You lost _him._ Don't think you can come trying to convince him that you're better at _anything_ than I am when we all know you wouldn't know how to satisfy a man even if there was a gun to your head." Rita scrambled backwards across the floor away from her as she advanced. "And how dare you pull that shit around the others and try to embarrass us? I ought to kick your ass so hard you'll be shitting from your nose." Andrea drew in a deep breath, let it out, and turned to Chad who was staring at her with an awestruck expression on his face from the doorway. "You forgot your shorts, so I brought them for you."

He took them without a word, and Rita tried to climb to her feet as he left. "I'll tell Brett, and he'll-"

"…do what, exactly? I really wonder _what _he'll say when he finds out where your hands just were." Andrea leaned in close. "I've been too nice to you, Rita. If you ever try to pull a stunt like this, I won't even bother with the girly hair pulling – I'll cut all of it off, and beat you senseless. Leave us alone."

She found Chad picking up the rest of their stuff silently while Meredith sniffed his legs. Lipson and Hawkins had retreated to a safe distance upon first sight of the SWAT lieutenant's face – she had no doubt it'd be talk of the precinct by the following day, since she wasn't sure who all had heard what had happened. He didn't speak until he had shoved their wet clothing and towels into the washer, then turned to her, his eyes unhappy. "I'm sorry."

Andrea gaped, having prepared herself for him being angry that she'd defended him. "Huh?"

Chad sat down in one of the kitchen chairs, staring down at the table surface. "I didn't encourage her, or anything. She just showed up. Rita's always been… a little odd sometimes, but I never thought she would do anything like that." He glanced up at her carefully, and she suddenly realized that he'd been thinking that she was angry with him.

"Sarge, it wasn't your fault," she said softly. "I'm sorry that I got so, um, violent with her but she's just been really pissing me off lately. A handful of weeks ago, Rita told me that I was sick for wanting to make love to you when your back wasn't strong enough… I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to get upset."

His brow furrowed. "She said that?"

Andrea sighed. "Yeah. Meredith and I kinda kicked her out before you woke up from your nap."

Chad moved the chair back so he could look at her from a better angle, and she sank down onto his knee. "This whole situation is messed up. I tried and tried to make the split a friendly one, you know? But it just never seems to work out to where that can happen… I mean, before you came into my life, I kept trying to get her back. I guess I thought I could change to be who she wanted me to be, just so she'd come back to me…I thought maybe it would be different."

She placed her hands on his shoulders, stroking up and down slowly. "I get that. I think she's probably just gotten so used to the attention that now we're together, she sees what she's missing and wants to try and get things back where she has the advantage."

He slowly slid his arms around her to hold her close. "Yeah, I guess she is. I hate that she can still get me so upset, though… I'm glad you're here to defend me," Chad joked.

"Someone's got to," she teased back, sensing that he was finally working past the confused tangle of his feelings for Rita but knowing he still needed her reassurance. "I got your back for as long as you want me to, Sarge."

"I'm not a sergeant anymore, though," he reminded her.

Andrea wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and kissed the top of his head when Chad pressed his face into her neck. "Just give me time and I'll think up a suitable nickname for you."

Chad snuggled close. "Okay."

"I love you," she whispered.

He just sighed noisily. "I know."

tbc…


	30. Chapter 30

"So, we went in there but of _course_ they were all gone – stuff everywhere," Andrea was telling him, a frustrated look on her beautiful face. "I think I'll have to ask Slim about it, but even with the CI money I've been giving him lately, it's like he conveniently forgets stuff like this." She picked up a french fry from her plate and jammed it into the puddle of ketchup she'd squeezed out on a napkin. "Told him he needed to get over the fact that he wasn't paid for Eddie's last hurrah," Andy informed him sternly, waving the fry at him.

Chad picked up his water glass, leaning over slightly to peer at the case file she'd placed on the table. "Tell him you'll bring bait and a hook to catch that koi he's got in his office… but it looks to me like you need to look around for a new CI, maybe one who doesn't hang with Yan's crowd."

"I don't know if that would work – he'd probably just turn snitch faster than I can snap my fingers, once he finds out he's not on the LAPD's payroll anymore…I'll figure something out," Andrea sighed. "How's yours?" she asked, pointing to his moussaka. "I've never had that before, is it good?"

She gave him her "begging eyes", so Chad slid some on a fork and held it out to her. "Don't eat it all, I'm hungry."

Andrea leaned forward so that he could put the fork in her mouth, then sat back after she'd swallowed. "That's good, why didn't I get that?"

"Because it didn't come with fries," he teased. They ate in companionable silence before he remembered something. "Oh, hey – realtor called this morning. Looks like we can go ahead on the sale of your place, since the buyer for the new property backed out."

She mumbled something around a mouthful of her gyro. "When did she call?"

"Just after you left; she said it went straight to voicemail when she tried you first." Chad finished his food, slightly annoyed that he still felt hungry. Ever since he'd finished building up the extra muscle after being released from the hospital, it seemed like he never felt full anymore. "I also got those samples we were talking about, but it'll be hard to tell what it's gonna look like until we're finished painting." He slid the squares of paper over to her and plucked a fry from her plate, ignoring her look of surprise. "They all look the same to me, but the guy at the paint store swore up and down that they were totally different."

After paying, he leaned back in his chair and watched Andrea finish up her iced tea, paying more attention than he strictly should to the way her lips curved around the straw. She caught him looking and smiled, nudging his leg with her foot. "Behave yourself, Lieutenant Shelten. If you're a good boy, maybe I'll…" but she didn't get a chance to tell him exactly what she would do, because his radio came on.

Chad was up and out of his chair in seconds, leaning over to kiss her in farewell. "Gotta go, First Team needs backup." Lipson came tearing out of the café across the street, throwing him the keys as she climbed in the passenger side seat.

"SWAT Unit 18 responding," Faith said into her radio, waving to Andrea as Chad started the car and steered it into traffic, flipping on the lights. "You'd think they could wait until after lunch hour to hold up liquor stores," she sighed. "I'd just ordered pie, too."

Jimmy Hanson was more than a little relieved to hand the situation over to Chad when he got there. "Looks like your standard hold up, sir – that lady over there phoned from outside after she heard shots fired, but we can't get close enough to suss out the situation. Definitely more than one gunman; Bann guesses at three, possibly four."

Taking a moment to glance around at the parking lot which held two SWAT cars and none of the regular patrol cars which should have been the first on the scene if this was indeed a standard hold up, Chad sighed and looked over at 'that lady', who was peering about excitedly as if she had just come on the scene. "Hanson, cut the crap. Which one of you went in there?"

The smaller man shuffled his feet nervously. "Sir?"

Chad rubbed his eyes. "You're honestly telling me that the woman over there phoned this in? Lipson, go talk to her and get a statement."

Faith's eyes narrowed at Hanson and started off before the First Team officer held out a restraining hand. "Wait… it's Michaels," he blurted, naming the officer notorious for his drinking problem. "He said he was just gonna pick up a case or two. You know, for the weekend." Chad shook his head - it was Tuesday - and turned to his companion.

"Head around back, radio to let me know the situation." She nodded and headed off quickly, leaving Chad to organize the other team and think of how differently his team was run. Second Team was made up of a bunch of characters, but they worked as a team and could function independently. From what he could see of First Team, they were content to stay put until given orders. "You, you and you," he pointed, "Split up and try to get a good vantage point on the roof of that building. We need to be able to take these guys out if necessary." They hurried off and he sighed again. Maybe this was the reason his team was called out twice as much – he'd talk to Ramiro about it later.

Loping back to the car to pull on his flak jacket, Chad slid his gun from the holster on his hip and made his way up the steps of the liquor store slowly. Trying to keep out of sight from the window was easier said than done, but he was finally stationed beside the door and reached to open it carefully. "Hey, stay back!" a man's voice yelled at him suddenly, and Chad shifted slightly to peer inside – he almost did a double take when he saw that there were no less than five men with guns in the store, and all pointing at each other.

_What the hell? _He leaned towards the door again to call out to the team member inside. "Michaels, what in God's name is going on in there?"

"Lieutenant?!?"

"Hey, you move again and I'll blow your head off," someone snarled.

Chad sighed as his stomach reminded him that it wanted more lunch, and reached for his radio. "Lipson, report."

"All clear around back, sir – advise."

"In on three." He gave the count and slammed his body through the swinging door just as Faith went in through the back. "Drop 'em _now_," Chad yelled, taking his cue from the clerk and training his gun on the man the clerk was aiming his shotgun at. Michaels had his gun pointed at another man aiming at the clerk, and a short grey haired man was in some sort of face off with the first guy. _This whole thing's giving me a headache,_ Chad thought irritably. "What the hell's going on here?"

Michaels shifted from one foot to the other. "Those two were trying to rob the place, and I just happened to-"

"Save it," Chad advised. "Who're you?" he asked the older man. "You got a permit for that?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Faith circle around and just as the guy started to respond, Chad eased his riot baton in its thigh sheath. "Damn straight, I do. Officer Battle, retired."

Chad didn't have time for the man's name to sink in, because one of the thugs started to stir and that meant he had to move. Stepping to one side, he pulled out the baton and brought it against the base of the man's skull with enough force to knock him unconscious. Seconds later, Faith was cuffing the other one and Michaels was left pointing his gun at a row of Southern Comfort and looking ashamed of himself. "Michaels? Get the report started – I'll see you back at headquarters." The other team member paled slightly. Maybe he could scare some sense into that idiot's head – SWAT was no place for someone with a habit he was unwilling to control.

Faith gave him an encouraging smile and went to retrieve some of the others from First Team so that the clerk could give his report of what had happened while the aging deputy rummaged in his wallet for ID. "Damn kids; always thinking they'll get away with it, you know?" he groused. "Hang on, I know it's in here…" He finally produced it and Chad looked down at the name: Joseph Allen Battle.

"Battle, huh? Any relation to Detective Battle in Narcotics?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Andy had told him about how testy her father could be, which was why they'd never met – apparently he'd sworn never to meet another of her boyfriends after a run-in with Eddie Reyes.

The man's chest puffed up slightly with pride. "That's my daughter; you know my Andrea?"

Chad barely kept himself from smiling. "Yeah, we know each other. I used to work at Metro a few floors up."

"Don't know why she stays in Narcotics; too many lowlifes hanging around, but she can take care of herself." He leaned close. "Couldn't pick a decent boyfriend if her life depended on it; just between us, huh?" Andrea's father sighed and looked up at him. "Now if she'd just pick a man like you, all her problems would be solved. She needs a man who can make decisions," he said firmly.

Chad coughed. "You think I'm her type?" He wondered if her father always told other people about Andrea's somewhat disastrous love life, or if he was just special.

Joseph Battle winked. "Hey, I'll put in a good word for you next time I see her and she can eighty-six the latest idiot she's with. Got some pansy-ass name…Brad or something. Probably one of those yuppie idiots who run around in Dockers and Lacoste shirts." Hanson came up to get a statement and Chad excused himself politely, waiting until he'd reached the safety of his car before he started laughing.

"So, how'd you day go?" Andrea asked, eyeing Chad appreciatively as her lover came through the door.

He dropped his keys on the table and leaned down to kiss her. "You might not believe it if I told you, so I won't even start." Sitting down next to her on the couch, he gathered her against him and she went gladly – she never could pass up an opportunity to cuddle with him while he was still in uniform.

"Well, you won't believe _this_," she said, settling against him comfortably. "My dad called a couple hours ago and wants to meet you. It was really weird."

Chad started coughing. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah, it's – hey, are you okay?" She started to pull away so she could slap him on the back, but he shook his head and held her in place. "Anyway, I told him we could come by on Saturday, if you don't mind."

"No, that's fine."

Andrea became increasingly nervous as the week wore on but Chad just seemed really amused by the thought of meeting her father for some reason and seemed obsessed with finding a Lacoste shirt, finally settling for one of his IA suits he now wore only to court hearings and the occasional dinner when they went someplace nice. Chad insisted on bringing a case of beer, which made her shake her head; her dad happened to like that particular brand, but she didn't think that it would help Chad since her father seemed bound and determined not to like him.

When they pulled up outside her family's home, she noted with a sinking heart that her brother and all three uncles' cars were there. "Oh, no."

"Something wrong?" Chad asked, coming around the front of the car to take her hand.

"What? Oh, of course not." She wondered what her father would say if they just got back in the car and left…

He smiled down at her, boyishly excited. "Okay, then. Let's go so I can meet your dad!" Why did he have to be so damned cheerful?

They walked up to the door and knocked; just as the door opened, Chad went to a crouch so he could dust off his trouser leg and her father peered out at them. "Andrea, where is…oh, you brought it after all," he growled disapprovingly.

Chad rose to his full height slowly, and Andrea was nearly ready to smack him for it when she noticed her father staring up at him, mouth agape. Her lover held out his hand, smiling. "Nice to meet you, sir."

"You….you…_you,_" Joe Battle wheezed, pointing. "You got a pair and a half, boy." Her father shook Chad's hand, giving him a hearty buffet on the arm.

"Daddy, what's going on?"

He came over to kiss her on the cheek, then pointed up at Chad again. "If your name's not Brad, what is it?"

"Chad, sir."

Andrea's father squinted up at him a few seconds more. "Well, get on inside, the pair of ya. And for godssakes, sit down somewhere! Can't be looking up at you all the time, it's bad for my neck."

"Yes, sir."

"And quit it with the 'sir', that makes me feel three days older than dirt. Call me Joe." Her father stared up at Chad again, shaking his head. "Be damned."

He led the way into the house, and Andrea yanked at Chad's arm to get him to bend close to her. "What the hell is going on? Why does he like you?" she asked suspiciously.

"I've just got that 'something', Andy," Chad preened. She rolled her eyes and resolved to let him fend for himself against her uncles and big brother.

After he'd managed to charm her uncles as well – her brother clearly wasn't buying any of it and she knew it'd take time for the two men to be at ease with each other – they spent a surprisingly pleasant day discussing their various duties and Chad raised more than a few eyebrows with his vehement support of her career when the conversation inevitably went to how she wasn't suited to be on the force because she was a woman. He made no attempt to show overt affection for her in front of her family and while she knew he wanted to show her family how much respect he had for her, they'd always been a highly tactile couple and she missed his overtures. It was a relief to have him draw her into his arms immediately when they arrived back at their place. "I missed you," he sighed, cuddling her close.

"I was right there beside you the whole time," she reminded him.

Chad buried his nose in her hair. "Yeah, but you hardly touched me."

"You're being needy and pathetic again, Shelten." Andrea pushed him onto the couch and climbed onto his lap, scattering kisses over his face as she loosened his tie. Her lieutenant really _did _have 'that something.'

Shouldering yet another box, Chad carried it out the door to the truck they'd rented. Andrea ran past in the other direction, yelling that someone's phone was ringing and something to the effect of hoping that there wasn't a hostage crisis because she wanted to be finished by today. Chad shook his head and slid his burden into the truck, nearly colliding with Shauna Ramiro when he turned to go back in the house. "Whoa! What're you-"

Steve popped out from behind the truck to come up beside his wife, shaking his head. "You should have called us so we could help you," he scolded. "As it was most of the team were at the beach together anyway so when we heard, we came right over."

"But, we don't need help," he tried to say just as most of the Second Team men and women trotted past him into the house, and then he saw some of First Team coming up. "Dammit, Steve – I didn't want to bother anyone. You guys have already done a lot for us." Shauna just smiled up at him and patted his arm before turning on her heel to supervise the loading.

The SWAT OIC shook his head and gave him a shove back to the house. "We take care of our own, especially when there's free beer involved."

Chad finally conceded defeat and went to make sure Andrea was labeling the boxes properly. "You call anyone?" he whispered to his girlfriend as he passed her a roll of tape.

"Nope," she whispered back. "Faith has been kind of nosy about our moving plans though…." Andrea trailed off in surprise when another car pulled up outside and Chad twisted around to see two of her uncles and her brother David get out. "I think someone's been driving by or something."

The moving ended up taking a few hours, since they had so many people to help – Meredith was going nuts running around trying to smell everyone at once – and it was with relief akin to awe that they finally saw the last of their helpers disappear out the door to their new home. Chad rolled his shoulders back to stretch and gazed around at the boxes piled around the living room, then dropped an arm around Andrea's shoulders. "Hard to believe, huh? Our home." He bent to kiss the top of her head tenderly, rubbing a thumb against the back of her neck.

Andrea nodded, leaning against him and giving him a loving look. "We'll have to christen it properly."

Now, how could he have forgotten about _that? _"You come up with all the best ideas, Crackhead."

"It's why you love me."

He grinned down at her. "No, don't really think _that's _why."

"Then why _do _you love me?"

Chad slid his arms around her, resting his cheek on the top of her head. "I love you because you're you." _And that makes me feel good about being me, _he thought. Maybe now that they'd taken this step of buying a home together, they might be ready to take the next step after that. The thought of being married to the tiny woman in his arms was actually a very pleasant one, and would be completely different from his failed marriage to Rita. He didn't think he'd ever loved anyone the way he loved Andrea; she was the type of woman you could lose yourself in just by looking in her eyes, corny as that sounded. No matter how much time they spent together, it never seemed like enough… just being there right when she opened her eyes in the morning felt like a gift he wasn't worthy of and he thanked God for creating such a woman for him to love, and to be loved by in return.

"I love me because I'm me, too."

He smiled against her hair. "Well, I'm glad we can agree on something."

Andrea wriggled out of his arms, widening her eyes at him as she began to walk backwards. "Oh, we agree on more things than that. We both know quite well that you won't be able to restrain yourself from a wanton display of virility in the kitchen."

"We do?" he teased, moving forward after her. It seems as if thoughts of marriage would have to wait until another time.

She nodded seriously. "We do. Your strange need to get naked in semi-public places is legendary."

"It is?"

"It _is._" Andrea shrieked as he lunged at her suddenly, and she turned to run.

As predicted, he caught up with her in the kitchen.

_end_


End file.
